Small CA Lutheran Church Fights to Keep its Property
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Southwest California Synod has sued the church for legal title to its property.
A small Lutheran church in southern California is in a court battle to maintain ownership of its property, worth about $5 million.
Photo via social media @Faith Lutheran Church San Dimas
On May 13, 2023, the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted to place the property of Faith Lutheran Church in San Dimas in “Synodical preservation.” ELCA said the church’s membership had become “so scattered or so diminished in numbers that it could not provide required governance,” according to court documents in the case. It notified the church of the vote by letter on May 15.
The Synod asserts that it is the equitable owner of the property and is entitled to have Faith Lutheran convey legal title to it.
The 70-year-old church has so far refused.
At the time of the Synod’s vote to “take charge and control” of the property, the congregation had about 27 people, 23 members and 4 non-members, according to Catherine MacWillie, a Faith Lutheran church council member. However, the church reorganized its finances, eliminated unnecessary expenses, and revitalized its church campus, she said. Now she described it as “thriving.”
MacWillie said members of the Southwest California Synod visited Faith Lutheran during this revitalization and praised its progress.
She said the church had also begun the process to disaffiliate from the ELCA and notified Bishop Brenda Bos, sending her the church’s resolution to do so, on April 30, 2023.
MacWillie said the church was very “transparent” with Bos about its intent to disaffiliate and that Bos provided Faith Lutheran with the necessary procedure to follow.
On May 8, 2023, Faith Lutheran again formally notified the ELCA of its intent to disaffiliate, including the date in June 2023 for the first of two required congregational meetings about the matter.
The ELCA responded that Faith Lutheran couldn’t disaffiliate while it was under “synodical administration” — a voluntary acceptance of help from the Synod. The church council then voted on May 14 to discontinue the synodical administration and notified the denomination of its decision on May 15 by email.
Within about 25 minutes after the church’s email to the Synod, it received a reply from the Synod’s attorney saying the church had been placed under “Synodical Preservation.”
Faith Lutheran continued its process of disaffiliation, holding two congregation meetings in the summer of 2023 where the congregation voted unanimously in favor of disaffiliating from the ELCA.
Photo via social media @Faith Lutheran Church San Dimas
The Synod filed a lawsuit in California seeking the legal title to the church’s property. The court granted the Synod’s motion for summary judgment based on the “ecclesiastical doctrine,” claiming that the question of placing the property in “preservation” status concerns “ecclesiastical matters regarding internal church governance and organization” and therefore the court is barred from reviewing the decision.
The church has filed a motion for reconsideration with the court that is expected to be ruled on by February 23.
The church believes the court can settle the matter — that it is not a matter of church doctrine but a matter of property law. The ELCA Synod is not on the deed to the church nor did it ever file a trust in favor of the synod against the church’s property, according to Faith Lutheran Chief Executive Officer Robert Velker’s sworn declaration. Nor did the church council ever adopt an enforceable trust clause encumbering the San Dimas property in favor of the Synod or ELCA, his declaration states.
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Faith Lutheran may be small with an active congregation of about 25, MacWillie admits, but she says it is thriving in the community — providing a preschool, a place for community activities such as wedding receptions and graduation parties, and hosting bible studies and potlucks. It even shares its space with two other churches who hold services at various times on Sundays and throughout the week.
Able Burke, pastor of Redemption Bible Church—one of the churches that rents and uses the building—has also been leading the Faith Lutheran Congregation for about four years. According to MacWillie, the synod met with and approved Burke to lead Faith Lutheran, and a retired Lutheran pastor has mentored him in Lutheran theology and liturgy.
MacWillie believes the ELCA Southwest California Synod is preying on Faith Lutheran because it is a small congregation with property worth about $5 million. She said the church has already spent about $200,000 fighting to keep its property and plans to continue the fight, even if it requires them to appeal to the California Supreme Court or even the U.S. Supreme Court.
The church hopes the denominational body will withdraw its lawsuit and “pursue a resolution that allows Faith Lutheran Church to continue its ministry, honors its long history, and reflects the ELCA’s stated commitment to supporting its congregations.”
“ELCA Churchwide has no authority to place a congregation under synod preservation; only the synod council can do that,” ELCA Public Relations Manager Candice Buchbinder told MinistryWatch.
“Faith Lutheran Church in San Dimas disaffiliated from the ELCA in 2023, and the issue of their property ownership is the subject of a civil lawsuit,” she said.
The Southwest California Synod did not respond to MinistryWatch’s email questions about the matter before the time of publication.
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