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Celestial Church of Christ v Lawson

Chancery Division: HHJ Hodge, 27 January 2017 [2017] EWHC 97 (Ch) Charity trustees – minister of religion – termination of employment – injunction – employee status

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2017

Ruth Arlow
Ruth Arlow*
Affiliation:
Chancellor of the Dioceses of Norwich and Salisbury
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Information

Type
Case Notes
Information
Ecclesiastical Law Journal , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 388 - 389
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical Law Society 2017 

L had been acting as shepherd-in-charge of the congregation of the Celestial Church of Christ, Edward Street Parish (‘the church’), for a number of years. The registered trustees of the church sought an order restraining L from entering their church premises or passing his activities off as the activities of their congregation and a declaration that he was no longer a trustee of the church, or an order removing him from that role. L sought a declaration that he was still shepherd-in-charge of the church and as such a trustee of the charity, and damages for non-payment of stipend accordingly. There had been a serious breakdown in pastoral relationships and much division within the parish, and the Parochial Committee had purported to terminate L's position as shepherd. There was dispute about whether the power to appoint or dismiss the shepherd-in-charge lay with the Parochial Committee or with the Pastor of the Celestial Church of Christ in Nigeria.

The judge held that the shepherd's role in the application of the income and property of the church as provided for in the church constitution was sufficient to make L one of the persons ‘having the general control and management of the administration of’ the church within section 177 of the Charities Act 2011, but that that role as trustee was contingent upon his continued role as shepherd and would terminate automatically upon termination of the latter role. Having referred to the decision of Preston v President of the Methodist Conference [2013] UKSC 29, the judge further held that L was an officer and not an employee of the church, despite having been treated as an employee for tax and National Insurance purposes. Crucially, L's role was of a spiritual nature and not subject to sufficient control by the church and there was no written contract of employment between L and the church. The Parochial Committee had acted reasonably and within its powers in terminating L's appointment as shepherd; accordingly, his role as trustee of the church was also terminated. The orders sought by the claimants were granted accordingly. [RA]