Historic Alabama Church Fights to Keep Property Amid United Methodist Dispute

A church in Demopolis, Alabama, that has been around since 1847 is suing to leave the United Methodist Church and keep its property. The church, First Methodist Church of Demopolis, claims it has always owned its land and never signed any agreement that would give ownership to the larger denomination.

Last year, this church was part of a larger group of more than 40 churches that took their case to the Alabama Supreme Court. However, the court ruled that these cases should be handled by the church's own court system, not state courts.

Now, First Methodist Church has filed a new, separate lawsuit in Marengo County on August 16. This makes it one of at least three churches that have filed individual lawsuits against the United Methodist Church.

Another church, Harvest Church in Dothan, also sued and argued that it never signed over its property. The Alabama Supreme Court sent this case back to a lower court for a decision. Harvest Church voted to become independent in 2022.

Similarly, Guy’s Chapel in Bay Minette, a church that is 114 years old, sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference last month, insisting that it has never given up ownership of its property.

In a group case involving multiple churches, the Alabama Supreme Court recently rejected a rehearing request, affirming its decision that such matters should be handled by church courts. The United Methodist Judicial Court is currently reviewing issues raised by churches that have been denied the right to leave the denomination while keeping their property.

In response to these lawsuits, the Alabama-West Florida Conference stated that the churches involved have not met the requirements to vote on leaving the denomination. The conference expressed sadness over the litigation but remains confident that the process they've followed is fair.

The church’s ability to leave under a specific rule expired at the end of 2023. Some churches argue that the conference is stalling to prevent them from leaving with their property. Now, the United Methodist Judicial Council will have to decide if these churches can still leave and take their property through another method.

The United Methodist Church has seen a decline in membership for decades, with several million members lost since 1968. Debates over LGBTQ rights have also contributed to the split in the church, with many congregations choosing to leave, including more than half of the United Methodist churches in Alabama. Nationwide, around 7,600 churches have left the denomination.