Post by krazeeboi on Aug 31, 2006 3:04:39 GMT -5
Md. Judge Backs AME Zion In Dispute
Breakaway Faction Told to Turn Over Assets
By Avis Thomas-Lester and Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 31, 2006; Page B01
The pastor and congregation of a Prince George's County church must return tens of millions in real estate assets they held onto when they broke from their denomination, a judge has ruled in a decision that could have far-reaching implications for churches and the organizations that oversee them.
Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Sheila Tillerson-Adams ruled earlier this month that Rev. John A. Cherry, who founded Full Gospel AME Zion Church in Marlow Heights but then left in 1999, and the thousands of members he took with him, have no right to several buildings and land valued at $30 million to $50 million. A hearing for the parties to discuss the ruling is scheduled for tomorrow.
The long-running case has been closely watched by many denominations and is seen as pivotal in the growing debate over who controls church assets: the pastors, boards and congregations of individual places of worship, or the umbrella organizations that oversee them.
Full Gospel AME Zion, which was founded by Cherry in 1981, was overseen by the AME Zion Church and supervised by an appointed bishop. The AME Zion Church holds that under the principles outlined in the AME Zion Book of Discipline, property purchased by individual Zion churches belongs to the overall denomination, officials said.
"I am certainly happy that the courts have ruled in favor of the AME Zion Church and I am hopeful that finally Reverend Cherry will be willing to sit down with the denomination to work out whatever arrangements that will have to be worked out," said Bishop Warren Brown, head of the Mid-Atlantic II District of the AME Zion denomination. "We are going to leave this in the hands of the attorneys, but I think that there will be an appeal."
Philip W. Horton, an attorney for Cherry and his congregation, said the church was "considering its options." He declined further comment.
In July 1999, Cherry left the AME Zion denomination, saying he had been told in a vision to sever ties. He sued that month seeking to retain the name of Full Gospel, but later dropped that and called his breakaway church From the Heart Church Ministries. A month later, he filed suit again asking to keep real estate and personal assets from Full Gospel. AME Zion countersued, seeking the return of the assets.
In March 2000, Circuit Court Judge E. Allen Shepherd ruled that Cherry and From the Heart Church Ministries must return the real estate and personal property. Cherry appealed and the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned Shepherd's decision in July 2002 and ordered a new hearing in Circuit Court.
Earlier this month, Tillerson-Adams ruled that Cherry can retain "personal assets," including a Learjet that stirred controversy when it was purchased. The members of the Full Gospel AME Zion Church, which has continued to operate, will regain a permanent worship site. After the split, Full Gospel held services in a motel meeting room and other locations because Cherry's group had control of the church's buildings, officials said.
"I would say on behalf of the AME Zion defendants that we are elated with the decision," said attorney Thomas L. McCally, who represented AME Zion. "For the second time in seven years, a Circuit Court judge has ruled that the AME Zion Book of Discipline is a binding and enforceable document under which . . . From the Heart agreed to be bound while affiliated with the church. And as a result, all real property acquired while they were part of AME Zion is being returned to AME Zion."
The case also has shed light on the way churches spend money and the sometimes expensive assets places of worship amass. In less than 25 years, Cherry transformed a once-tiny congregation that met in a storefront into one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the Washington metropolitan area.
Among the real estate assets From the Heart will have to return are a sanctuary with an elementary school on Norcross Road in Temple Hills, a second sanctuary on Piscataway Road in Clinton, an office building on Auth Road in Marlow Heights and 130 acres near Wheeler Road and the D.C. line, officials said.
In June, Cherry handed over From the Heart Church Ministries to his son, the Rev. John A. Cherry II, during a four-hour worship service at Verizon Center that attracted nearly 10,000 people and several politicians. Eight days later, the son was in a Prince George's courtroom, thrust into the legal dispute.
Reached by telephone, Rev. Cherry II said: "I am confident that God's will be done. I have no further comment."
Brown, the AME Bishop, said he hopes that the two sides will reach a quick accord.
"From a spiritual perspective, I don't want to see the church involved in a long legal fight," Brown said. "This is not good for the church or God's kingdom. I hope that all of the parties will find a way to do what is honorable and credible for the kingdom of God."
Breakaway Faction Told to Turn Over Assets
By Avis Thomas-Lester and Hamil R. Harris
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 31, 2006; Page B01
The pastor and congregation of a Prince George's County church must return tens of millions in real estate assets they held onto when they broke from their denomination, a judge has ruled in a decision that could have far-reaching implications for churches and the organizations that oversee them.
Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Sheila Tillerson-Adams ruled earlier this month that Rev. John A. Cherry, who founded Full Gospel AME Zion Church in Marlow Heights but then left in 1999, and the thousands of members he took with him, have no right to several buildings and land valued at $30 million to $50 million. A hearing for the parties to discuss the ruling is scheduled for tomorrow.
The long-running case has been closely watched by many denominations and is seen as pivotal in the growing debate over who controls church assets: the pastors, boards and congregations of individual places of worship, or the umbrella organizations that oversee them.
Full Gospel AME Zion, which was founded by Cherry in 1981, was overseen by the AME Zion Church and supervised by an appointed bishop. The AME Zion Church holds that under the principles outlined in the AME Zion Book of Discipline, property purchased by individual Zion churches belongs to the overall denomination, officials said.
"I am certainly happy that the courts have ruled in favor of the AME Zion Church and I am hopeful that finally Reverend Cherry will be willing to sit down with the denomination to work out whatever arrangements that will have to be worked out," said Bishop Warren Brown, head of the Mid-Atlantic II District of the AME Zion denomination. "We are going to leave this in the hands of the attorneys, but I think that there will be an appeal."
Philip W. Horton, an attorney for Cherry and his congregation, said the church was "considering its options." He declined further comment.
In July 1999, Cherry left the AME Zion denomination, saying he had been told in a vision to sever ties. He sued that month seeking to retain the name of Full Gospel, but later dropped that and called his breakaway church From the Heart Church Ministries. A month later, he filed suit again asking to keep real estate and personal assets from Full Gospel. AME Zion countersued, seeking the return of the assets.
In March 2000, Circuit Court Judge E. Allen Shepherd ruled that Cherry and From the Heart Church Ministries must return the real estate and personal property. Cherry appealed and the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned Shepherd's decision in July 2002 and ordered a new hearing in Circuit Court.
Earlier this month, Tillerson-Adams ruled that Cherry can retain "personal assets," including a Learjet that stirred controversy when it was purchased. The members of the Full Gospel AME Zion Church, which has continued to operate, will regain a permanent worship site. After the split, Full Gospel held services in a motel meeting room and other locations because Cherry's group had control of the church's buildings, officials said.
"I would say on behalf of the AME Zion defendants that we are elated with the decision," said attorney Thomas L. McCally, who represented AME Zion. "For the second time in seven years, a Circuit Court judge has ruled that the AME Zion Book of Discipline is a binding and enforceable document under which . . . From the Heart agreed to be bound while affiliated with the church. And as a result, all real property acquired while they were part of AME Zion is being returned to AME Zion."
The case also has shed light on the way churches spend money and the sometimes expensive assets places of worship amass. In less than 25 years, Cherry transformed a once-tiny congregation that met in a storefront into one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the Washington metropolitan area.
Among the real estate assets From the Heart will have to return are a sanctuary with an elementary school on Norcross Road in Temple Hills, a second sanctuary on Piscataway Road in Clinton, an office building on Auth Road in Marlow Heights and 130 acres near Wheeler Road and the D.C. line, officials said.
In June, Cherry handed over From the Heart Church Ministries to his son, the Rev. John A. Cherry II, during a four-hour worship service at Verizon Center that attracted nearly 10,000 people and several politicians. Eight days later, the son was in a Prince George's courtroom, thrust into the legal dispute.
Reached by telephone, Rev. Cherry II said: "I am confident that God's will be done. I have no further comment."
Brown, the AME Bishop, said he hopes that the two sides will reach a quick accord.
"From a spiritual perspective, I don't want to see the church involved in a long legal fight," Brown said. "This is not good for the church or God's kingdom. I hope that all of the parties will find a way to do what is honorable and credible for the kingdom of God."
