Horry County church leaving United Methodist must surrender property, suit says
The future of a historic Loris church is murky after South Carolina’s United Methodist Church conference sued to take control of the property.
Camp Swamp Church, at 853 Camp Swamp Road, was founded in 1882, according to its website.
For many years, the church has served under the United Methodist denomination, but its leaders sent notice of separation in January, changing its name to Camp Swamp Methodist Church, according to the lawsuit.
The separation goes against the United Methodist Church’s established doctrine, the lawsuit states, which requires all member churches to hold their properties in a trust for the use and the benefit of the United Methodist Church’s mission and ministry.
Without permission of the conference’s board of trustees, Camp Swamp Methodist Church and its leaders unlawfully assumed control of property and bank accounts that rightfully belong to Camp Swamp United Methodist Church, the suit alleges.
Stevie Porter, chairman of the Camp Swamp church’s council, declined to comment when reached by The Sun News.
The conference noted in its lawsuit that it believes a group of members at Camp Swamp United Methodist Church remain loyal to the denomination, and they want a judge to grant them authority to remove the church’s leadership and replace them with those members who remain loyal.
The case is among a cluster of active disputes across South Carolina with member churches seeking to leave the United Methodist denomination while retaining their properties. The state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that all such cases be enjoined and heard by Judge Brian Gibbons.
The United Methodist Church has rapidly been losing members — more than 7,600 congregations nationwide disaffiliated in 2023, according to the Associated Press — and South Carolina’s conference allowed more than 100 member churches in 2023 to split amicably, The State newspaper reported.
The denomination is one of several that have experienced splits in recent years because of disagreements over how the church should address LGBTQ issues, whether the church should be more welcoming and inclusive or uphold traditional teachings about morality and sexuality, according to The State.
