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When Vaughn Tuttle and 70 other members of Gove United Methodist Church voted to leave the denomination in May 2003, they did not anticipate the fallout, especially when it came to church property.

Tuttle, 47, a father of three in the tiny northwest Kansas town, had been a lifelong Methodist. In recent years, he and other members at Gove UMC (one of just two churches in the 100-person town) had grown angry with the direction of United Methodist Church leadership.

"The church as a whole has just gotten liberal on a lot of conservative issues," Tuttle says, "like homosexuals in the pulpit." But homosexuality wasn't the primary concern. He was alarmed when Tibetan chants and Baha'i prayer bells were used in worship. "Sometimes you gotta just set your foot down and say, 'This isn't right.' "

Among conservative Episcopalians, the consecration of openly homosexual bishop Gene Robinson last November went beyond the pale. Many are waiting for the findings of the Eames Commission, expected in October, to decide whether to quit the national church. The commission will assess the implications of the consecration.

Diane Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), which advocates for conservative renewal, says, "We are probably going to see a spate of property disputes. It is just unavoidable."

In recent months, conservatives in mainline congregations across the United States have voiced similar frustration. Christianity Today spoke in depth with leaders in two divided mainline congregations, Gove UMC and All Saints Episcopal Church in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, to gain insight into the property issues that arise when local congregations split.

In the UMC, some evangelical leaders have said it may be time for conservatives and liberals to pursue amicable separation after years of dispute. Such an administrative divorce may be discussed at the next global meeting of Methodists in 2008.

But for a few congregations, the waiting is over. After months of debate, more than 70 members of the 125-member Gove UMC in May 2003 voted to secede from their denomination. Seven months later in January 2004, 468 members of the 800-member All Saints parish voted to leave the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA).

Russell Campbell, head of the All Saints governing board, cited an erosion of orthodox beliefs in the national church. "The orthodox members felt that the church they had known had been taken away by the revisionist group." All Saints senior pastor David Bryan said the consecration of Robinson was the final straw. "Folks were continually less confident that the Episcopal Church was going to straighten itself out." The majority at All Saints chose to join the Anglican Mission in America (AMIA). AMIA is a four-year-old missionary endeavor sponsored by Anglican archbishops in Rwanda and Southeast Asia. It has 65 congregations, mostly in North America.

That vote put the ownership of the All Saints church campus, valued at $10 million, in dispute. A 1979 Episcopal church law, called the Dennis Canon, states that all parish property belongs to the local diocese and the national church. The All Saints campus includes several buildings and 50 acres of land.

Ross Lindsay, chancellor of All Saints, says the parish plans to challenge the constitutionality of the Dennis Canon if necessary. The church was established in 1767, more than 20 years before the Episcopal Church was formed. Lindsay says All Saints property was given in the 1740s as a charitable trust to the local inhabitants, not the national church. But Nick Ziegler, attorney for the Diocese of South Carolina, dismisses the All Saints argument, which he calls "a very stale claim."

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September 2004, Vol. 48, No. 9