Decision only ‘declarative’ in case of Danville, CA congregation; but all Presbyteries now must bring policies in line with this decision

The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GAPJC) has ruled that a presbytery must “fulfill its fiduciary duty under the trust clause,” when it considers dismissing a congregation from the Presbyterian Church (USA) into another Reformed body.

And that fiduciary duty “requires that the presbytery exercise due diligence regarding the value of the property of the congregation seeking dismissal. Due diligence, of necessity, includes not only an evaluation of the spiritual needs of the congregation and its circumstances but also financial analysis of the value of the property at stake. Payments for per capita or mission obligations are not satisfactory substitutes for the separate evaluation of the value of the property held in trust.”

On Oct. 26, the GAPJC heard the case of Wilber Tom, David Hawbecker and Thomas Conrad vs. the Presbytery of San Francisco. The commission’s decision was released on Oct. 30.

The case arose when several members of San Francisco Presbytery filed a remedial complaint with the Synod of the Pacific PJC which protested the presbytery’s decision to dismiss Community Presbyterian Church of Danville, Calif., to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The dismissal agreement included the congregation paying the presbytery a one-time lump-sum payment of $108,640; and an annual commitment of $42,500 for targeted PCUSA missionaries, ministries and ministers, paid quarterly for the five years following the congregation’s dismissal.

The dismissal agreement fully satisfied the policy of the presbytery which was unanimously adopted by the Presbytery in September 2009.

The SPJC ruled in favor of the presbytery stating that the Book of Order gives the presbytery the“authority to dismiss a church in consultation with its members to another Reformed body;” and that the property of CPC Danville was required to be held, used, applied, transferred or sold as provided by presbytery. In the exercise of that discretion, presbytery, consistent with its policy, determined to transfer by quit claim deed its interest in the CPC Danville property upon dismissal of the church to the EPC.”

That decision was appealed to the GAPJC, and on May 18, 2012, the congregation and presbytery both fulfilled their obligations described in the dismissal agreement. The congregation paid the per-capita and mission funds to the presbytery and the presbytery executed the quitclaim deeds to Danville which assumed sole responsibility for substantial debt on the properties in question.

Declaratory authority to provide guidance

In its decision the GAPJC acknowledged that the presbytery’s action could not be undone, but stated that the commission would exercise its declaratory authority to provide guidance to lower councils, seeking to prevent future “violations.”

Of the 15 “specifications of error” cited in the case, the GAPJC “sustained” or approved nine, and did not approve six.

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