Buildings Held in Trust: A Church Court Rules Property Transfers Cannot Be a Route Out of the Denomination

• The Judicial Council issued Decision 1449 on Paragraph 2548.2 of the Book of Discipline
• Property can only be transferred to denominations with an approved written agreement
• The Global Methodist Church has no such agreement
• Four conditions, including votes and bishop consent, must be met

The United Methodist Church’s top court has limited how local churches can transfer their property, UM News reported in August 2022.

In Decision 1449, the Judicial Council ruled that Paragraph 2548.2 of the Book of Discipline, which allows church property to be deeded to another denomination, can only be used where the United Methodist Church has a written comity or allocation agreement approved by the General Conference. The newly formed Global Methodist Church has no such agreement.

The court said the paragraph “establishes a process for the limited purpose of deeding and transferring church property” and “may not be used as a pathway for local churches to disaffiliate from The United Methodist Church.” Four conditions must be met: a General Conference-approved agreement, compliance with the church’s connectional structure, a majority vote by the church conference, and the consent of the bishop and district leadership.

The ruling came as hundreds of congregations were seeking to leave the denomination during a split over sexuality. Most local church property in the United Methodist system is held in trust for the wider church, so rules on transfers decide whether departing congregations can keep their buildings.

The case shows how deeply the legal structure of property ownership shapes church life. A congregation may have built and paid for its building over generations, but if the title or trust terms favour the denomination, the congregation cannot simply take the property with it.

Jamaican churches of every denomination should know how their property is held: in the name of the local church, a denominational trust, or individual trustees. That determines what happens in a split, merger or closure. Reviewing deeds and trust instruments, and making sure they reflect current arrangements, can prevent painful disputes later.

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