Leaders of the United Methodist Church took notice when other Protestant denominations began allowing same-sex marriage — and in some cases were hit with a wave of lawsuits.
Conservative Episcopalians and Presbyterians, opposed to any new stance on homosexuality, wanted to break away from their denominations. And they wanted to take their church buildings and church bank accounts with them. The denominations claimed to be the true owners of the breakaway churches’ assets, and bitter legal fights sometimes ensued.
