Real Estate Reformation ; Seceding Churches Fighting New Battle for Property Rights

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - For 55 years, members of Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church have tithed their 10 percent, money that often went toward maintaining 12 acres of tree-lined church property.

Now they've been told that the church where generations have worshipped does not belong to them - but rather to the national denomination they believe has lost its biblical authority and want to cut ties with.

"What about the blood, sweat and tears of the congregation - all of us who have given all these years?" said Jane Constance, a member since 1982 whose four children were baptized and raised in the church. "It's unthinkable to me - to most of us - that it could belong to them …