Dispute over church property resolved

Key Points:

• The Northern Illinois Conference has reached a settlement with a breakaway faction of the former Naperville Korean United Methodist Church.
• Bishop Dan Schwerin, episcopal leader of the conference, said he is grateful for the settlement and the conclusion of this painful time in the conference’s history.
• After the breakaway faction seized the church, the remaining Naperville Korean United Methodist Church members formed a new faith community. They now worship at the site under the new name Woori Naperville United Methodist Church.

United Methodists in the Northern Illinois Conference expressed joy and relief with the resolution of a 15-month dispute over the rightful ownership of the former Naperville Korean United Methodist Church and other assets.

The conference announced on Oct. 4 that it had signed a settlement with a breakaway faction of the former church. The conference said the settlement resolved the disagreement amicably.

Bishop Dan Schwerin, episcopal leader of the Northern Illinois Conference, said he is grateful for the settlement and the conclusion of this painful time in the conference’s history.

“I am grateful for the good people who remain faithful to The UMC and now worship at the site under the new name Woori United Methodist Church,” the bishop said. “With the lawsuit behind us, we can return to the work of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world in the greater Naperville area.”

The resolution was reached five months after Judge Anne Therieau Hayes, an associate judge on the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois, issued a temporary injunction on March 21 ordering the return of the property seized by the breakaway group.

The settlement ends lingering disputes between the parties that continued after the judge’s ruling.

“God is right, just and righteous,” said Dr. KP Chung, a lay leader of Woori Naperville United Methodist Church. “We were thrilled and welcomed the settlement after a tired and exhausting 15-month dispute over the church property. I pray that we continue reconciliation among all the members, including the breakaway group, for the sake of the church as Christians. We will focus on mission and ministry and make good use of the building for our ministry.”

Naperville Korean United Methodist Church initially entered into a disaffiliation process agreement with the Northern Illinois Conference according to Paragraph 2553, which was passed by the 2019 Special General Conference. 

The provision allowed churches in the United States to disaffiliate from the denomination for “reasons of conscience regarding a change in the requirements and provisions of the Book of Discipline related to the practice of homosexuality or the ordination or marriage of self-avowed practicing homosexuals,” as long as they satisfied the terms and conditions for the disaffiliation established by the applicable annual conference.

Paragraph 2553, which expired on Dec. 31, 2023, provided a limited avenue for local churches to deviate from The United Methodist Church’s centuries-old trust clause, which states that the property of a local church is held in trust for the benefit of the entire denomination.

Since Paragraph 2553 became effective in 2019, nearly 7,700 churches, or about 25% of the 30,500 churches in the United States, have disaffiliated from The United Methodist Church.

As part of the process, Naperville Korean United Methodist Church agreed to pay $1,429,457.98, submit a disaffiliation application to the annual conference, and complete the disaffiliation process approved by the annual conference.

On May 25, 2023, the Northern Illinois Conference Board of Ordained Ministry terminated the ordination process in the elder track for Kihwan Choi, a licensed local pastor, and the conference discontinued his appointment to Naperville Korean United Methodist Church.

Choi and a breakaway group from the Naperville Korean congregation unilaterally ended the disaffiliation process with the Northern Illinois Conference on May 28, 2023, claiming to have become an independent church. They then changed the locks and keys to the church building and barred the remaining congregation members, the newly appointed pastor and conference staff from entering.

The breakaway group occupied the church for more than ten months. After sending several warning notices and receiving no response, the conference filed a formal lawsuit on Oct. 10, 2023, seeking the return of the property and funds, which resulted in the temporary injunction.

After the breakaway group ended the disaffiliation process, the conference cabinet recommended the church’s closure according to Paragraph 2549.3(b), and the Northern Illinois Annual Conference approved the closure during its meeting in June.

Paragraph 2549.3(b) states that the real and personal, tangible and intangible property of the local church shall immediately vest in the annual conference board of trustees upon the decision of the presiding bishop, the majority of the district superintendents, and the appropriate district board of the church location and building.

The remaining Naperville Korean United Methodist Church members formed a new faith community, Woori Naperville Faith Community, and worshipped at other churches until the temporary injunction was announced in March. They returned to the church building on March 24 for a Palm Sunday service, the first worship there in nearly 10 months.

Asbury Korean United Methodist Church, planted in 1976 by the Rev. Paul C. Chang, and DuPage Korean United Methodist Church, planted in 1981 by the late Rev. Samuel Son, were the congregations originally ministering to Korean Americans living in Chicago’s western suburbs.

In 2008, the Asbury and DuPage churches merged to become Naperville United Methodist Church. The Asbury and DuPage properties — granted free of charge from the Northern Illinois Conference in 1976 and the early 1990s, respectively — sold for $2.75 million. That money and a $1.5 million loan from the conference were used to build the Naperville church.

Chang said he was relieved by the amicable settlement.

“I was finally relieved after hearing the news they resolved amicably a disagreement and reached a settlement,” he said. “It is a Christian way. As a retired pastor of The United Methodist Church and one of the founders of Naperville Korean, I pray that the issue of LGBTQ+ will be resolved well through the stewardship of The United Methodist Church.”

The Rev. Nadan Cho, newly appointed to Woori Naperville United Methodist Church, said he is grateful that the dispute has ended.

“I feel like an unfinished business is ultimately over. Through this painful process, our trust in the conference deepened, and we have faith in connectionalism realistically.”

He shared his vision for the church.

“I want to focus on celebrating the 50th anniversary of Naperville Korean,” he said, “and move our attention to multiethnic young adult groups for the next 50 years of our church.”