Bishop Seabury parishioners take it day by day

via TitusOneNine:

By Karen Florin

Publication: The Day

Published 04/16/2010 12:00 AM Updated 04/16/2010 06:52 AM

Groton church in fight with Episcopal Diocese doesn't have to give up property yet
Members of the Bishop Seabury church, including the man who led them away from the Episcopal Diocese in 2007, are taking it Sunday by Sunday.

About 25 parishioners from the Groton church attended a court hearing in Waterbury Thursday to learn whether they would be able to remain during an appeal of a judge's ruling that the church and all of its property must be turned over to the diocese.
The group will be allowed to stay, at least for the near future.

"It's better than nothing," said the Rev. Ronald Gauss, who traveled by bus to the hearing along with about two dozen others.

Gauss retired from the Episcopal Church and led his parish away from the church amid disagreements over several issues, including the church's ordination of an openly gay minister in New Hampshire in 2003.

Gauss was deposed, or removed as a priest, after the church determined he had formally abandoned it. The congregation became affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.

A lawsuit over who owned the church and its property soon followed.

Judge Barry K. Stevens ruled last month that the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut owns the 6.5-acre site of the church and all its property, including "parish records, reports, vestry minutes, bank accounts, trust accounts, equipment, furniture and furnishings." He ordered Gauss and his followers to turn over the property.
Gauss and his group have appealed, and have petitioned the court to remain in the church while the state Appellate Court considers the case. Thursday's hearing before Judge Stevens involved the motion to stay and a motion by the diocese to conduct an audit of the church and its properties.

Stevens asked attorneys from both sides to file briefs within the next two weeks. He will rule on the motions at a later date.

Attorney Bradford S. Babbitt, chancellor for the diocese, said it is "highly unlikely" that any court will overturn Stevens' ruling that the diocese is the rightful owner.

"We think the court's order that the assets and all of the different types of property that are owned by the parish should be protected during the appeal, and enforcing the court's order, is the proper way to protect those assets," Babbitt said. "The trial court's decision was based on a 17-year-old Supreme Court decision which we don't expect is going to be overturned."

In his ruling, Stevens cited a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision and state law that required him to examine the church's system of government to determine whether the diocese held authority over the parish. He determined that the church is held in trust by the diocese and the Episcopal Church.