Key points:
- After voting to cut ties with The United Methodist Church, Highland Park Methodist is asking the court to stop those who remain United Methodist from using the Highland Park name.
- Meanwhile, the Highland Park United Methodist congregation is moving locations to the campus of Southern Methodist University.
- The lawsuit over church governance and property remains ongoing.
The legal dispute between the Horizon Texas Conference and Highland Park Methodist Church, which recently voted to split from the United Methodist fold, had its first day in court Nov. 12.
A Dallas County judge called the hearing to consider the church’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the congregation that wishes to remain United Methodist from using Highland Park in its name. At the brief hearing, Judge Bridgett Whitmore indicated she needed more time before making a ruling.
In the meantime, the Highland Park United Methodist congregation has made plans to move its Sunday services to Southern Methodist University’s Prothro Great Hall, starting at 10 a.m. U.S. Central time Nov. 15.
“As United Methodists, we respect the right of every individual and family to make personal decisions about their faith and where they worship,” the Horizon Texas Conference said in a statement. “At the same time, Highland Park United Methodist Church continues today as a congregation of The United Methodist Church under the leadership of the Rev. Andy Lewis, appointed by Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr.”
Saenz, who leads the Horizon Texas Conference, announced Oct. 29 that he had appointed Lewis as the new senior pastor of Highland Park United Methodist days after the congregational vote to cut ties.
Lewis most recently has served as assistant to the bishop, a senior leadership role in the conference office. For the past two weeks, the Highland Park United Methodists shared space with nearby University Park United Methodist Church, a 900-member congregation.
Now, those staying United Methodist will worship on the same campus where the Highland Park congregation began 116 years ago. The 2,200 square‐foot Prothro Great Hall, which seats more than 140 people, is part of Perkins School of Theology, a United Methodist seminary.
These are the latest developments in a legal dispute that began in August with the Horizon Texas Conference’s litigation over church governance and has since evolved into a quarrel over church property and who gets to call themselves Highland Park United Methodist.
On Oct. 25 and 26, slightly more than 90% of 4,775 Highland Park members cast a vote in favor of a resolution for the congregation to “sever all of its ties, affiliations, and connections to The United Methodist Church.” About one-third of the Dallas megachurch’s 15,000 members participated in the vote.
Among the prominent members who voted for the resolution were former U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, according to the New York Times. They also voiced support for the Rev. Matt Tuggle, the church’s senior pastor since February.
The final tally still left more than 400 Highland Park members who voted against the resolution.
Days after the vote, Saenz sent letters to both Highland Park lay leaders and congregants letting them know that he had named Lewis to the United Methodist congregation and assigned Tuggle and pastor emeritus the Rev. Paul Rasmussen “to other duties.”
“We will not walk away from you,” Saenz told congregants. “Our goal remains a vibrant United Methodist church at the corner of Hillcrest and Mockingbird: a congregation governed as a United Methodist church, connected to the wider church and open to all.”
At the same time, the Highland Park church council said the bishop’s declaration changed nothing for the congregation. “As we have said many times, we will continue to protect our beloved and incredible clergy including the Rev. Matt Tuggle and the Rev. Paul Rasmussen,” the church council said.
So it was that for the past two weeks, thousands have worshipped at multiple services under the name Highland Park Methodist at the gothic building that stands adjacent to SMU, while more than 100 people worshipped under the name Highland Park United Methodist at University Park United Methodist about three miles away.
Still, in a court filing on Nov. 10, Highland Park Methodist Church argued that the United Methodist congregation identifying itself as HPUMC and using Highland Park in its name was causing confusion among the public, including donors. In calling the remnant congregation Highland Park United Methodist Church or HPUMC, the Methodist church maintained, the conference — the plaintiff in the case — has engaged in trademark infringement.
“Congregants were uncertain where to meet and which communications were actually from the Church, while donors withheld contributions out of concern that their money might go to Plaintiff,” the church said in its filing. “When informed of this confusion, Plaintiff moved its competing, identically named congregation even closer literally across the parking lot from the Church while continuing to solicit donations using the Church’s legal name and mark. Under neutral principles of Texas law, this conduct is unlawful and is causing irreparable harm.”
Highland Park Methodist is seeking a temporary restraining order barring the conference from “using the names ‘Highland Park United Methodist Church,’ ‘Highland Park United Methodists,’ ‘Highland Park UMC,’ ‘HPUMC,’ or ‘HPUMC Oasis,’ or any other name or designation confusingly similar to ‘Highland Park United Methodist Church’ or ‘HPUMC,’ in connection with any worship service, ministry, fundraising, website, social-media account, signage, or other public communication.”
The conference, in its response, argues that only United Methodist ministries can use “United Methodist” in their names.
“As a matter of United Methodist church law, only United Methodist entities may use ‘United Methodist’ in their names, and the denomination has ecclesiastically determined HP Corporation is not United Methodist,” the conference’s filing read.
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The conference also argued that HP Corporation has shown no protectable trademark interest. “‘Highland Park United Methodist Church’ is also a name used by many congregations, ‘Highland Park’ is part of the name of many churches of many different denominations, and ‘Highland Park’ is a geographic designation used by numerous communities across the country.”
In fact, Highland Park is also the name of the well-heeled Dallas neighborhood where both the church and SMU sit.
The lawsuit over that church property is ongoing, with the conference accusing the Highland Park Methodist congregation of breach of contract.
The United Methodist Church maintains a centuries-old trust clause, first established by Methodism founder John Wesley, that says church property is held in trust for the benefit of the denomination. What that means is that while people can leave a church at any time, they can’t take property with them.
State supreme courts across the U.S. have upheld the United Methodist trust clause, but its status in Texas courts remains unclear.
Between 2019 and 2023, The United Methodist Church offered a limited release from the trust clause amid intensifying divides over same-sex weddings and the ordination of gay clergy. More than 7,600 churches left with property under that temporary policy, but Highland Park was not among them. The Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, has since ruled the trust clause is back in full force.
“As the denomination evolved into what is now The United Methodist Church, the congregation remained part of that continuing connection,” the Horizon Texas Conference said in a statement. “The pastoral charge continues today, and the line connecting Highland Park United Methodist Church to its beginnings in 1916 remains unbroken. The Horizon Texas Conference remains committed to the congregation, its ministry and its future within The United Methodist Church.”
Another hearing on the lawsuit between Highland Park Methodist and the conference is scheduled Dec. 7.
Hahn is assistant news editor for UM News. Contact her at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
