Whatever the outcome of the higher court’s decision, Mills said Olivet’s legal battle will help clear murky legal waters for other churches. “We believe that’s not only going to bless us – whichever way it goes – but it’s going to make it really clear not only to other PCUSA churches that have left but Episcopalians, other denominations in the same circumstances.”

A former Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Indiana will get its day in court before the state Supreme Court in a property case that has bounced back and forth in favor and against the beleaguered church.

On May 27, the Indiana Supreme Court agreed to review a property dispute between Olivet Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Evansville, Ind. and the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, which is acting on behalf of the PCUSA.

The decision to review arrives on the heels of a 2010 appellate-court decision overturning a local circuit court’s judgment in favor of Olivet.

Olivet’s property troubles began in 2006 when it was dismissed from the PCUSA to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The congregation sought to retain its property it has owned since 1968.

The presbytery approved the dismissal but voted to keep the church property. In 2007, the presbytery offered to lease the property to Olivet – an offer the congregation declined. The presbytery sued but Olivet won title to its property in circuit court.

The presbytery appealed the decision and, in December 2010, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the church was bound by the PCUSA constitution and that, as such, the property constituted a “trust for the use and benefit of the [PCUSA].” The three-judge panel stated that, because Olivet remained in the PCUSA, it tacitly agreed to the trust clause. Also, since, the court claimed, the church negotiated its dismissal through the presbytery, Olivet acknowledged the authority of the PCUSA’s governing documents.

The appellate court claimed the trust clause’s language was “plain and unambiguous.” “Olivet agreed to be a part of the PCUSA when it was formed in 1983,” the court stated in 2010. “By so agreeing, Olivet reaped the myriad benefits of being affiliated with a national organization. When Olivet decided to leave the PCUSA, it did so by following the procedures set forth in the PCUSA Constitution.”

Now that the state Supreme Court has decided to review the lower-court decisions, Olivet’s pastor says the outcome will set a watermark for churches in similar circumstances.

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“We believe it’s a very important issue for our state to resolve so that other people don’t have to go through with this,” the Rev. Dave Mills said, adding that his congregation will continue to pray the court will rule that individual churches are the stewards of God’s property.

“We all recognize [the property is] not ours. It’s not the presbytery’s – it’s God’s. The question is really one of stewardship,” Mills said. “We believe we’re the primary stewards,” he added.

“The Supreme Court has not yet taken any action on this matter, other than indicating its willingness to consider the case, thus any comment would be premature,” said Judy L. Woods, an Indianapolis attorney representing the presbytery. “We look forward to being able to present our arguments to the court,” she added.

In January, the Presbyterian Lay Committee (PLC), as well as the American Anglican Council (AAC) filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief to support Olivet’s appeal to the state Supreme Court. The PLC brief challenged the appellate court’s application of neutral principles of the law and called on the higher court to reverse the decision.

“The court … found that a non-owner’s claim of a trust interest in property operated to divest the titled owner of the land of that interest based solely upon the denomination’s claim that it had that interest, irrespective of the owner’s desires,” the brief stated, adding that the ruling in favor of the PCUSA’s claim, “negated the doctrine of neutral principles and instituted a form of ‘denominational deference’ of questionable constitutional validity.”

The ruling could, the PLC brief claims, strip the property rights of any church holding a deed by implying a trust that may not actually exist.

“This effects not only the obvious ownership interests of the landholder, but all who may have financial dealings with the landowner secured by that title,” the brief stated, adding that such a scenario could make obtaining loans or mortgages tougher “because of a potential cloud on title by virtue of their possible association with a denomination.”

Whatever the outcome of the higher court’s decision, Mills said Olivet’s legal battle will help clear murky legal waters for other churches. “We believe that’s not only going to bless us – whichever way it goes – but it’s going to make it really clear not only to other PCUSA churches that have left but Episcopalians, other denominations in the same circumstances,” he said, adding that church members were praying for all five justices by name and “trusting God to lead them to the right conclusion.”

According to the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s office, the 11.64-acre property is worth $2.45 million

Olivet’s legal journey is just one of many higher-court property appeals that have sprouted across the U.S. within the past month. In late May, Hope Presbyterian Church in Rogue River, Ore. decided to appeal to the state Supreme Court after a lower appellate court granted title of its 52-year-old building to the PCUSA in a similar dispute.

A former Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation in Indiana will get its day in court before the state Supreme Court in a property case that has bounced back and forth in favor and against the beleaguered church.

On May 27, the Indiana Supreme Court agreed to review a property dispute between Olivet Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Evansville, Ind. and the Presbytery of Ohio Valley, which is acting on behalf of the PCUSA.

The decision to review arrives on the heels of a 2010 appellate-court decision overturning a local circuit court’s judgment in favor of Olivet.

Olivet’s property troubles began in 2006 when it was dismissed from the PCUSA to join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The congregation sought to retain its property it has owned since 1968.

The presbytery approved the dismissal but voted to keep the church property. In 2007, the presbytery offered to lease the property to Olivet – an offer the congregation declined. The presbytery sued but Olivet won title to its property in circuit court.

The presbytery appealed the decision and, in December 2010, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled the church was bound by the PCUSA constitution and that, as such, the property constituted a “trust for the use and benefit of the [PCUSA].” The three-judge panel stated that, because Olivet remained in the PCUSA, it tacitly agreed to the trust clause. Also, since, the court claimed, the church negotiated its dismissal through the presbytery, Olivet acknowledged the authority of the PCUSA’s governing documents.

The appellate court claimed the trust clause’s language was “plain and unambiguous.” “Olivet agreed to be a part of the PCUSA when it was formed in 1983,” the court stated in 2010. “By so agreeing, Olivet reaped the myriad benefits of being affiliated with a national organization. When Olivet decided to leave the PCUSA, it did so by following the procedures set forth in the PCUSA Constitution.”

Now that the state Supreme Court has decided to review the lower-court decisions, Olivet’s pastor says the outcome will set a watermark for churches in similar circumstances.

“We believe it’s a very important issue for our state to resolve so that other people don’t have to go through with this,” the Rev. Dave Mills said, adding that his congregation will continue to pray the court will rule that individual churches are the stewards of God’s property.

“We all recognize [the property is] not ours. It’s not the presbytery’s – it’s God’s. The question is really one of stewardship,” Mills said. “We believe we’re the primary stewards,” he added.

“The Supreme Court has not yet taken any action on this matter, other than indicating its willingness to consider the case, thus any comment would be premature,” said Judy L. Woods, an Indianapolis attorney representing the presbytery. “We look forward to being able to present our arguments to the court,” she added.

In January, the Presbyterian Lay Committee (PLC), as well as the American Anglican Council (AAC) filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief to support Olivet’s appeal to the state Supreme Court. The PLC brief challenged the appellate court’s application of neutral principles of the law and called on the higher court to reverse the decision.

“The court … found that a non-owner’s claim of a trust interest in property operated to divest the titled owner of the land of that interest based solely upon the denomination’s claim that it had that interest, irrespective of the owner’s desires,” the brief stated, adding that the ruling in favor of the PCUSA’s claim, “negated the doctrine of neutral principles and instituted a form of ‘denominational deference’ of questionable constitutional validity.”

The ruling could, the PLC brief claims, strip the property rights of any church holding a deed by implying a trust that may not actually exist.

“This effects not only the obvious ownership interests of the landholder, but all who may have financial dealings with the landowner secured by that title,” the brief stated, adding that such a scenario could make obtaining loans or mortgages tougher “because of a potential cloud on title by virtue of their possible association with a denomination.”

According to the Vanderburgh County Assessor’s office, the 11.64-acre property is worth $2.45 million

Olivet’s legal journey is just one of many higher-court property appeals that have sprouted across the U.S. within the past month. In late May, Hope Presbyterian Church in Rogue River, Ore. decided to appeal to the state Supreme Court after a lower appellate court granted title of its 52-year-old building to the PCUSA in a similar dispute.