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GUIDELINES FOR CONGREGATIONAL WITHDRAWAL
                                   FROM THE CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

                                    SOUTHERN PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT

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               D. 6. DISTRICT’S RIGHTS TO CONGREGATIONAL PROPERTY
               The rights described in this polity for the district board to take control or to approve the
               voluntary transfer of congregational property shall be exercised solely for the purpose
               of  assuring that the property or its proceeds are not diverted from use for the Church of
               the Brethren and shall not imply a right on the part of the district board to otherwise
               affect or  control the use of the property by a congregation of the Church of the
               Brethren.

               E. RETURN OF PROPERTY TO CONGREGATIONS
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               In cases where the aforementioned restrictive covenant providing for the divestiture of
               title to property owned by a congregation results in the title being vested in the district
               board, in trust, it is understood that this action is taken only as a means of preserving
               property for the   purposes of the Church of the Brethren. This property has been
               purchased and developed by consecrated effort, and in many cases at great sacrifice,
               by individuals who have been loyal  to the principles of the Church of the Brethren. If
               the district board determines that circumstances warrant, the district board may return
               the property to the congregation. If the                      district board determines that circumstances do
               not warrant the return of the property to the congregation, the district board shall use
               or dispose of the property in the best interests of the Church of the Brethren.

               BACKGROUND INFORMATION FROM SOUTHERN PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT
               POLITY


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               ARTICLE 4
                  Property Holdings, Financial Resources, & Dissolution Statement
               Property Holdings. All members of the Southern District of Pennsylvania Church of the
               Brethren acknowledge they are brothers and sisters of the same family through Jesus
               Christ. Though all of the same family, the District is comprised of individual
               congregations. Historically, the Church of the Brethren has encouraged individual
               congregations to control their own future and affairs within the parameters of the
               teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines of the Church of the Brethren. Though
               each congregation legally owns its own real and personal property, recognition is given
               that the family of the Church of the Brethren has equitable title. In light of present legal
               realities, in the absence of formal recognition by each congregation of this balance of
               legal and equitable title, and in the event of a fragmentation of a congregation, a civil
               __________
               3    2016 Manual of Organization and Polity, Chapter 6, Property Holdings and Financial
                    Resources, I, D, 6, pg. 3. This portion establishes Denominational control of property and
                    restricts the use of that   property for Denominational purposes.
               4    2016 Manual of Organization and Polity, Chapter 6, Property Holdings and Financial
                    Resources, I, E, pg. 4. This portion states that the District Board has the authority to return
                    property to a church which is withdrawing from the denomination at its discretion.
               5   District Plan of Organization, Southern District of Pennsylvania, Church of the Brethren,
                    9/18/2010, pgs. 13-14


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