Property, General: Trustees

C. Requirements

4520. A trustee must be a Wesleyan Church member who meets the leadership qualifications (260–268; 558). Whenever a trustee ceases to be a member with said qualifications for any reason, the office as trustee shall be declared vacant and a successor shall be elected for the unexpired term in the manner provided in The Discipline.

4530. All trustees shall administer their duties in accord with The Discipline as from time to time amended, as directed by the governing body to which they are amenable, and subject to local laws as set forth in 4510. Whenever a trustee refuses to carry out properly given orders and instructions and submit to the authority to which amenable, the trustee may be removed from office and a successor shall be elected for the unexpired term as provided for in The Discipline.

4540. A board of trustees shall have and hold in trust for the use and benefit of the members and ministers of The Wesleyan Church any and all property committed to it; shall see that titles are good; that deeds and all written instrumentalities are in harmony with The Discipline and with local laws as set forth in 4510; that all property deeds and titles contain the required trust clause as set forth in 4610; that they are promptly recorded; that abstracts and all other legal papers are properly stored and secured; and shall perform such other duties as are required of them in The Discipline or by the governing body to which they are amenable, and in the case of incorporated bodies, as set forth in the articles of incorporation and bylaws or charter of the corporation.

D. Restrictions

4550. A trustee or board of trustees and/or its governing body may not divert property from the ownership and use of The Wesleyan Church.

4560. A board of trustees shall not normally accept a deed which contains a clause by which the land conveyed may revert to the original grantor, the heirs, or assigns of the original owners.