Ownership of Congregation’s Property

Please review the denomination comparison chart, line #9.

An important question to consider is “Who actually owns the property that Hebron Presbyterian Church calls its home?”  According to the PCUSA Book of Order 2023-2025:

G-4.0203 Church Property Held in Trust

All property held by or for a congregation, a presbytery, a synod, the General Assembly, or the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), whether legal title is lodged in a corporation, a trustee or trustees, or an unincorporated association, and whether the property is used in programs of a congregation or of a higher council or retained for the production of income, is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Notice that the PCUSA maintains that church property, though it is paid for and supported by the finances of the congregation, is “held in trust” by the PCUSA. We believe the church property is “for the use and benefit” of the particular church and not the denomination. In Pennsylvania, legal courts uphold the PCUSA’s effective ownership of Hebron Church property. In contrast, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), a possible future denominational partner, is set up so that the congregation owns their church property.

No one likes the idea of paying the PCUSA to keep our own buildings and grounds, but how does one attach a dollar amount for standing up for our Triune God and all He has done and is doing for us? Whatever the final amount is, it will be determined through negotiations only after a vote to seek membership in a more suitable denomination is completed.