The Presbytery of South Louisiana (PSL) will be out of money sometime during the year 2010, according to the Rev. Theodore Roeling, Sr., former treasurer of the organization.

At a presbytery meeting on Oct. 9 and 10, the finance committee announced that its deficit for the first eight months of 2009 had grown to $244,000 and was climbing fast, due primarily to the cost of PSL’s lawsuits against one of its congregations, the 20-member Carrollton Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. The Carrollton case logged multiple courtroom hours in September and October with the prospect of more to come that may add more than $50,000 in attorney fees by the end of the year.

Among property law cases, this litigation is unique, in that the Carrollton church is a member congregation of the PCUSA that says it has no intention of leaving the denomination. At issue is Carrollton’s decision to sell its property to a Catholic school next door in order to facilitate the school’s classroom expansion. The plan includes Carrollton’s intent to continue using the sanctuary for its own Sunday worship services, even after the sale. Carrollton session members see this as a win-win arrangement: They will facilitate sound Christian education for New Orleans children while continuing to use the building for worship. Further, they can use the proceeds from the sale for their chosen ministries, and the Catholics will assume expensive maintenance costs.