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2527. Charge or Cooperative Parish Board of Trustees--1. A pastoral
charge composed of two or more churches, each having a local board of trustees,
may have, in addition, a board of trustees for the charge as a whole. This
board shall hold title to and manage the property belonging to the entire
charge, such as parsonage, campground, burial ground, and such other property
as may be committed to it. It shall receive and administer funds for the charge
in conformity with the laws of the state, province, or country in which the
property is located. This board shall consist of not less than three persons,
at least two thirds of whom shall be members of The United Methodist Church and
of legal age as determined by law. These trustees shall be elected by the
charge conference for three years or until their successors are elected.
2. A
cooperative parish composed of two or more charges may have, in addition to its
charge trustees and local church trustees, a board of trustees for the
cooperative parish as a whole. This board shall hold title to and manage the
property belonging to the cooperative parish in accordance with ¶¶ 2503, 2526,
and 2527. These trustees shall be elected by the charge conference and/or
church local conference related to the cooperative parish and shall be
representative of each congregation that composes the cooperative parish.
3. The
board of trustees of a charge shall provide for the security of its funds, keep
an accurate record of its proceedings, and report to the charge conference to
which it is amenable.
4.
When two or more local churches compose a single pastoral charge having a parsonage
and one or more thereof is separated from such charge and established as a
pastoral charge or united with another pastoral charge, each such local church
shall be entitled to receive its just share of the then reasonable value of the
parsonage in which it has invested funds, with the exception that those
churches departing from a circuit who had joined the circuit after the
parsonage was acquired would have no claim on any value of the parsonage. The
amount of such value and just share shall be determined by a committee of three
persons, appointed by the district superintendent, who shall be members of The
United Methodist Church but not of any of the interested local churches. Such
committee shall hear all interested parties and shall take into account the
investment of any church in any such property before arriving at a final
determination. From any such determination there is reserved to each of the
interested churches the right of appeal to the next succeeding annual
conference, the decision of which shall be final and binding. Any sum received
as or from such share shall not be applied to current expense or current
budget.