Judge to decide who pays in ongoing Peters Creek church dispute
It will be up to a Washington County judge to decide who is going to pay in the ongoing financial dispute between Peters Creek Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Washington Presbytery of Pennsylvania.
The church formed in 2008, when the majority of the congregation of Peters Creek United Presbyterian Church voted to leave Presbyterian Church USA in favor of the more conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church. In recent years, Presbyterian churches across the United States have been leaving the PCUSA, the country’s largest Presbyterian denomination, mostly because of its decision to recognize gay marriage.
In a hearing Wednesday in Washington County Court before Senior Judge William Nalitz, attorney Stephen Marriner, representing the Washington Presbytery, had Lindsay Aaron, a Washington certified public accountant, examine eight years’ worth of the evangelical church’s financial records and point out more than 20 purported accounting errors.
“This accounting is the worst accounting I have ever seen in my career,” Marriner said during the two-hour-plus hearing.
Peters Creek Evangelical claims the Washington Presbytery owes it $374,525 dating to 2007, an amount the Washington Presbytery disputes.
In its complaint, the church acknowledges it occupied the Brookwood Road property from November 2007 through October 2014. It says it paid all costs associated with the maintenance and upkeep of the property, and is entitled to reimbursement of $573,360, minus a $2,000 monthly rent, for a total of $374,525.
The last worship service held by Peters Creek Evangelical at the Brookwood site was April 26, 2015. Congregation members now worship in the parish hall at St. David’s Episcopal Church on East McMurray Road, also in Peters Township.
“The Washington Presbytery never raised any objections,” said Thomas McMurray, a Peters Township certified public accountant and life member of Peters Creek Presbyterian Church, both before and after the rift.
Said attorney Frank Kosir Jr., who represents the church: “This was the best accounting a small congregation could do.”
Also at issue between the two parties is a $150,000 donation made specifically to Peters Creek Evangelical Church. Marriner said the Washington Presbytery has been waiting to hear from the church about what it plans to do with the donation.
Less than 50 members remain Peters Creek United Presbyterian Church, which owns the Brookwood property. Craig Kephart, teaching elder at the Washington Presbytery, said services are held every Sunday morning and there are no plans to sell the building. The church, however, may sell a six-acre parcel it bought more than a decade ago, that is next to the church.