BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
Grace United Methodist Church of Lawtey is one of more than 100 churches that has filed suit against the United Methodist Church to leave the church conference.
Grace is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, which was filed in Bradford County.
According to a press release, the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church is demanding a lump sum payment from Grace representing current and future liabilities of the conference before Grace is allowed to leave the conference.
“The lawsuit alleges that the ‘[Florida] Annual Conference has taken the position that it is entitled to keep [Grace United Methodist Church’s] property — which was owned and paid for . . . long before the UMC and the Annual Conference ever existed — unless Grace . . . pays a substantial payment of money as unilaterally determined by the Annual Conference Defendants.’”
Grace was founded in 1888 as a Methodist Episcopal Church.
A disagreement over doctrine is behind the attempt to leave the conference.
