Methodist Church in Arkansas Continues Lawsuit to Retain Ownership of Property

First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas, can continue its lawsuit to “clear title” to its property after a vote to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church (UMC) denomination.

First Methodist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas / Photo by Michael via Google Maps

Judge Gary Arnold, who serves in another area of the state, was appointed to the matter due to recusals by 12 local judges because of conflicts of interest.

Arnold denied the motion to dismiss filed by the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church in which the conference argued the court did not have jurisdiction over the case.

Lawyers for the conference argued the court should defer to the denominational leadership as other courts have in similar cases, including one in February by the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

“Religious freedom encompasses the power of religious bodies to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government,” the attorney quoted from the appellate court decision.

However, the church’s attorney argued this is not really a religious matter, but a property dispute over which the court has jurisdiction.

The Arkansas Conference has also filed court documents seeking removal of church staff who fall on the side of disaffiliation. It also claims the church members seeking to quiet title—to remove competing claims—to the property are not members of the United Methodist Church because they are not loyal to the UMC’s Book of Discipline.

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In December, the Jonesboro congregation voted to disaffiliate from the UMC. In response, Arkansas Conference leaders suspended its senior pastor John Miles and “vested title to all property of the First United Methodist Church Jonesboro in the Arkansas Conference Board of Trustees for the protection of the rights of the United Methodist Church and those United Methodists wishing to continue to worship in their church in Jonesboro.”

Miles has continued to lead the congregation, but last week the Bishop Laura Merrill announced she has appointed Rev. Britt Skarda to lead the congregation until June 30.

Skarda retired from active ministry in 2020 after leading the Pulaski Heights UMC in Little Rock for ten years. He said of his appointment to lead in Jonesboro, “First United Methodist Church of Jonesboro is a congregation with a remarkable past and a promising new future. I am both humbled and honored to walk alongside these faithful disciples of Jesus Christ on this next leg of their journey.”