Church Street Methodist Church of Selma, the city’s oldest church at 185 years old, this week sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in an effort to keep control of its property.

The 350-member congregation argues in a lawsuit filed Oct. 14 in Dallas County Circuit Court that it never agreed to the “trust clause” that binds the property of congregations to the United Methodist denomination.

The church is asking that a judge declare that the church property belongs solely to the congregation and not to the denomination.

Church Street Methodist sits on the only piece of land in Selma that has never been bought or sold, according to a church history.

City planners set aside a plot of land for a Protestant church and the Methodists built a wooden church on the site in 1835. A brick structure was built in 1856 and the current church building was built in 1901-02.

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In 1875, the City of Selma conveyed the one-acre tract of property to church trustees and the deed is on file at Dallas County Probate Office.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal maneuvers by churches attempting to leave the denomination after being blocked from disaffiliating by the Alabama-West Florida Conference.

Two such lawsuits have already made it to the Alabama Supreme Court.

The state’s high court ruled that Harvest Church in Dothan did have the right to have its case heard in civil courts. Church Street Methodist cites the Harvest case and makes some of the same arguments.

In another case, a group of 44 churches that sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference were told by the Supreme Court that they would have to pursue their cases through the church courts, not civil courts.

“We are saddened by this litigation, but we are confident the process we have adhered to is fair and just,” the conference said in a statement about churches that had filed a lawsuit against the conference asking to leave.

Church Street Methodist is one of several churches involved in that lawsuit that have now filed individually.

Because of a continuing denominational feud over same-sex marriage and ordination of openly practicing gay clergy, the General Conference adopted guidelines for churches to leave the denomination and take their property with them after meeting financial requirements by Dec. 31, 2023.

This year, the General Conference changed its traditional stance to approve same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBTQ clergy.

“At present, the UMC denomination is in a state of flux,” the lawsuit filed by Church Street Methodist says.

“Organizational differences and changes in policy not otherwise relevant have prompted hundreds of churches to leave the UMC, which is threatening the viability or stability of some UMC institutions. In many cases, concerned churches have sought assurance that local property is not controlled by or subject to the whims of the denomination.”

The total of churches that disaffiliated from the Alabama-West Florida Conference by the 2023 deadline was 248. The churches that sued said they were not allowed to leave and take their property before the deadline.

In the North Alabama Conference, 348 churches disaffiliated. Both conferences had more than 600 member churches before the disaffiliations.

Church Street trustees in the lawsuit say that the church has never adopted any documents recognizing the United Methodist “trust clause,” a part of the denomination’s Book of Discipline that states control of church property ultimately rests with the denomination.

“Church Street has never accepted or consented to the UMC’s trust clause and never signed a required written trust instrument,” the lawsuit says. “Church Street has never adopted any organizational documents that incorporate any reference to the ‘trust clause.’”

North Alabama and the Alabama-West Florida conferences previously each had their own bishop. In the North Alabama Conference, those churches who applied for disaffiliation were allowed to leave.

In the Alabama-West Florida Conference, some churches were derailed in their efforts to disaffiliate, with officials making it harder for churches to leave the conference and take their property with them.

Bishop Jonathan Holston, who took office in September as bishop over all United Methodist churches in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, said he needs to consult with the Alabama-West Florida Conference trustees about the spate of lawsuits.

“Everyone wants to put disaffiliation behind them,” Holston said in a recent interview.

The schism “should not stop us from making disciples, should not stop us from evangelizing, should not stop us from seeking to be mission with people all around the world, should not stop us from helping people affected by Hurricane Helene,” Holston said.

“It should not distract us from being the people we ought to be.”