Talks fail to settle dispute over plan to sell St. James church

Even after talks between St. James the Great leaders and the bishop who plans to sell the Newport Beach Episcopal church to a residential developer ended without resolution this week, parishioners who have been locked out of the property are still holding onto hope that they will again worship there.

The National Episcopal Church initiated conciliation talks between St. James leaders and Bishop J. Jon Bruno of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles after the congregation filed a formal complaint against Bruno in July.

The complaint, known as a presentment, alleges that Bruno violated church doctrine against dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation while putting the property, at 3209 Via Lido, and two nearby parking lots up for sale for $15 million and locking out the congregation. Developer Legacy Partners Residential plans to build 22 luxury townhomes on the lot.

Eight clergy members from Orange and Los Angeles counties joined in the presentment.

The goal of the conciliation effort was a compromise that would end the complaint. Church leaders declined to specify what was discussed.

“We hope that the bishop has a change of heart and decides not to continue with the sale so it is not necessary for us to move forward with the presentment,” said Bill Kroener, a member of the St. James congregation.

A review panel could continue to investigate Bruno or move the matter to a hearing. Potential sanctions could include a suspension or defrocking, the most severe punishment.

A representative of the Episcopal Church in New York did not respond to a request for comment.

St. James leaders believe that Bruno failed to receive consent to sell the property from the church’s standing committee, which Episcopal Church canons require for the sale or destruction of church property, according to the presentment.

During the talks, Bruno’s lawyer subpoenaed several members of the congregation for depositions related to a lawsuit Bruno filed against Griffith Co., which owned the property before it was transferred to the Episcopal diocese in 1945.

Griffith Co. has alleged in court documents that when ownership rights were transferred, the deed mandated that the site remain a church. However, lawyers for the diocese have said the church negotiated removal of the use restriction from the deed in 1985, granting the diocese the right to sell the property for other purposes.

The sale likely will not move forward until the lawsuit is concluded, according to a St. James statement Wednesday.

In May, Bruno announced to a stunned congregation that St. James was being sold to Legacy Partners. Less than a month later, the congregation held its last service at the church. Days after that, members say, Bruno had the locks changed on the building and would not allow the congregation inside.

Parishioners and the church vicar, the Rev. Canon Cindy Evans Voorhees, have been holding services in a park across from the church since June.