The largest Lutheran denomination in the United States shouldn\u2019t be dragged into a lawsuit among church groups fighting over valuable property in downtown Miami, an attorney for the denomination argued Friday during a court hearing.<\/p>\n
There is no legal relationship between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Inc. (ELCA) and the church groups battling over the $30 million property, said Daniel Becka, an attorney for ELCA, during an online hearing over whether the denomination should be included in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Lisa Walsh didn\u2019t make an immediate ruling, asking instead that attorneys send her a proposed order within 10 days. But she seemed skeptical of bringing the denomination into the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does this have to do with the transaction that\u2019s at issue in this case?\u201d Walsh said at one point.<\/p>\n
Becka asked the judge to block any effort to involve the denomination in the legal battle among the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church of Miami and Crossbridge, a network of Miami churches that broke away from the Presbyterian Church in America a few years ago. Crossbridge has a congregation in Key Biscayne.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like the Catholic Church where you have the pope up here, and you have the local church down lower in a hierarchical relationship,\u201d Becka said. \u201cThe bottom line is, your honor, we just don\u2019t belong in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Florida-Bahamas Synod, the Lutheran church\u2019s regional body, sued two years ago to cancel Immanuel\u2019s transfer of the $30 million property in the upscale Brickell neighborhood to Crossbridge, which had been renting the space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, Crossbridge attempted to add the deeper-pocketed national Lutheran church to the lawsuit, saying the national organization would be unfairly enriched if the transfer is blocked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Crossbridge attorney Michael Green argued Friday that the court needed to allow him to examine the relationship between the national denomination and the local church to determine if there was a hierarchical structure, an issue relevant to Crossbridge\u2019s legal claims. He cited as an example that the local church gives a percentage of donations to the national denomination.<\/p>\n
Never miss a story! Sign up for our FREE newsletter<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a member of the local congregation gives, a percentage of that gift money is shared with the ELCA,\u201d Green said. \u201cThe ELCA wants to come in and argue they have no relationship at all with this local congregation, period, end of story. But I\u2019ve made my allegations, and I\u2019m trying to probe on that. I think my claim is tied to what is the structure of the church?\u201d<\/p>\n
In court papers, the Synod said the transfer to Crossbridge was part of a plot by Immanuel\u2019\u2019s interim leader, Rev. James Dunham, to put the church property out of the Synod\u2019s control and allow him to start a new congregation, while Crossbridge\u2019s lead pastor, Carter Brown, saw it as an opportunity to get a property worth $30 million \u2014 and allow Dunham to use the church for his new congregation.<\/p>\n
A jury trial is scheduled for early next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Invest in Local News for Your Town. Your Gift is tax-deductible<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MikeSchneider-150x150.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n