What about Racism and Assets: "A Commentary on Ecclesial Divorce and Asset Division" by Rev. Dr. Vance P. Ross, senior pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Ga.
A Primer on UM Assets: Who Owns Them?
by David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries (January 8, 2020)
There has been a lot of discussion about the “assets” of The United Methodist Church related to the possibility of a division within the church. What will happen to those assets has become a topic of debate, with varying proposals part of the different plans.
Yet before United Methodists make plans to divide their assets, it is important to come to a clearer understanding of just what those assets are and how they may (or may not) be disposed of in the future. Thus, this is the first post in an on-going series about UMC assets.
First, it’s important to explain two critical legal frameworks that impact all United Methodist assets: the concept of legal personhood and the trust clause.
Under most countries’ property laws, assets can only be owned by “legal persons,” a lawyerly term meaning both actual humans and government-recognized entities such as corporations. The United Methodist Church is not a human, with the exception of individuals who own property in trust for unincorporated local churches (more on that in a future post), and it does not have legal claim over the assets owned by any of the humans associated with it. Thus, when we’re talking about United Methodist assets, we’re mostly talking about the assets of government-recognized non-human legal entities, which in the US usually take the form of 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations.
But there is a very important point to be made about assets and legal entities within the UMC. The United Methodist Church as a whole is not a legal entity itself, as ¶141 of the Book of Discipline makes clear:
“These terms [“The United Methodist Church,” “the general Church,” “the entire Church,” and “the Church”] refer to the overall denomination and connectional relation and identity of its many local churches, the various conferences and their respective councils, boards and agencies, and other Church units, which collectively constitute the religious system known as United Methodism. Under the Constitution and disciplinary procedures set forth in this Book of Discipline, “the United Methodist Church” as a denominational whole is not an entity, nor does it possess legal capacities and attributes. It does not and cannot hold title to property, nor does it have any officer, agent, employee, office, or location. Conferences, councils, boards, agencies, local churches, and other units bearing the name “United Methodist” are, for the most part, legal entities capable of suing, and being sued, and possessed of legal capacities.” (emphasis added) [Continue reading at UMGlobal.org.]
A Primer on UMC Assets: What Are They?
by David W. Scott, Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries (January 13, 2020)
As explained last week, ownership of UMC assets is determined by the concept of legal personhood and the trust clause.
Having looked at ownership, it’s worth looking more specifically at what exactly is meant by assets or property. The trust clause covers “all real and personal, tangible and intangible property,” which essentially means all assets. But what is real, personal, tangible, and intangible property?
First, “property” is defined as something that can be owned. Technical definitions of “asset” vary, but within accounting, an “asset” is something of positive value owned by a legal entity. For the sake of this blog series, I will use the terms property and asset interchangeably.
Real vs. personal property and tangible vs. intangible property are two separate ways of breaking down the categories of property. The inclusion of both in the trust clause implies that the trust clause applies to all property, regardless of type.
Real property is property that cannot be moved, like land and buildings. When most people think about the trust clause, this is what they think of – church buildings. It is worth noting, however, that the trust clause applies to all land and buildings owned not just by local congregations but by any United Methodist legal entity: parsonages, annual conference and agency headquarter buildings, church camps, land purchased for possible future use, and the property of church-owned social service or outreach ministries. Real property goes far beyond just the category of church buildings used by congregations, even while church buildings make up the largest share of real property.
Personal property, by contrast, is all property that can be moved, including financial assets, i.e., money, and intellectual property. The term “personal” here refers to legal personhood, not human personhood; thus personal property is a much larger category than the things you might think of yourself as owning. Few United Methodists own an ocean freighter or the rights to the use of a cartoon character, but these are also forms of personal property.
The breadth of the category of personal property makes the second distinction – between tangible and intangible property – useful.
Tangible property is any physical property that can be touched. It includes real property (you can touch land or a building), and a lot of personal property as well. Furniture, equipment, supplies, vehicles, books, clothing, jewelry, etc. – all of these are forms of tangible personal property.... [Continue reading at UMGlobal.org.]
A Commentary on Ecclesial Divorce and Asset Division
by Vance P. Ross
January 9, 2020
“Race is the child of racism, not the father.”
– Author Ta-Nehisi Coates
Special to United Methodist Insight
[Highlight:]
...All this for an ecclesial divorce, one seeking assets accumulated through a four-hundred-year-old, blood-drenched, morally reprehensible and spiritually criminal inheritance through racism. Who can claim “their assets,” or any division of assets without first repenting, in the scriptural model of Zaccheus, for these sins that create wealth even now?
From moderate to conservative, from liberal to traditional, from progressive to centrist, no Methodist manifestation has clean hands around the destruction and the lies caused by racism. Race is the child of racism, not the father. No schism will prevent racism from living, breathing and killing people in new Methodist expressions. If this issue — one that found its victims believing liberation and unity, only to be dismissed and degraded — shall still be ignored, let us say so and begin a proper biblical division of assets, beginning with those whose lives and properties continue to be stolen. [Read the whole commentary at UM-Insight.net.]