A lawsuit between a Texas church and Presbyterian Church (USA) has been continuing on for over six years, and it still seems to be no closer to a conclusion.
Windwood Presbyterian Church of Houston decided to leave the Presbyterian Church at the beginning of 2014, due to differences in beliefs. There were growing differences between the Presbyterian Church’s stance on homosexuality and the Windwood Presbyterian Church’s beliefs about homosexuality. As the Presbyterian Church started accepting homosexuality, the Windwood Presbyterian Church felt as though it had no choice but to leave the denomination.
However, there then become a problem over exactly who owns the church property in Houston. The Presbyterian Church has been arguing that the Windwood Presbyterian Church should pay them to have full ownership of their church property – whereas the Windwood Presbyterian Church argues that they should not pay to continue using their own church buildings.
The pastor at Windwood Presbyterian Church in Houston, Reverend Kevin C. Rudolph, has stated: “We have been involved in a lawsuit over the ownership of the property since 2008 and that suit is still in process.” The church membership voted on whether or not they would stay with the Presbyterian Church or if they would leave, and they decided by a 99% majority.
The key problem with the property is because there is a trust clause that states that “all property held by or for a particular church is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).” It is not known exactly how the suit can be resolved as it appears that neither side plans to back down.