Sale & purchase

Sale/disposal of church furniture & furnishings

The sale of the property normally includes fittings and fixtures but excludes loose furniture and furnishings. The sale, gifting or disposal of these items requires approval from your Church Council and decisions should be undertaken on a consultative basis. We would suggest you move slowly and carefully in this area as members can have memories and emotions tied up with furniture and in particular when making commitments to the family members of people who are memorialised on church property. Property Services receive enquiries from family members regarding such items, sometimes many years after a property has been sold. Congregations are requested to complete a ‘Church furniture & significant items list’ for Uniting Church SA records.

Stained glass windows, foundation stones

If you are planning to leave stained glass windows, memorials and foundation stones with the property, a Memorandum of Encumbrance can be placed on the Certificate of Title. An Encumbrance allows the stained glass windows and foundation stones to remain with the property that they relate to, but in the event of the purchaser or subsequent purchasers wishing to demolish the building at a later date, or no longer wanting them in the building/s, the stained glass windows and foundation stones are required to be returned to the Uniting Church. Once a property is no longer in the ownership of the Uniting Church, the Church does not have the right to ask for the removal of foundation stones or stained glass windows, but an Encumbrance prevents the purchaser or subsequent purchasers from destroying, selling or otherwise disposing of them.

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Purchase of church property

The process to purchase buildings and land:

Sale proceeds

Sale proceeds are invested as per the Property Sale Proceeds Policy and available for allocation under the terms of that policy. Sale proceeds are held by the Property Trust on behalf of congregations for approved purposes. There are two investment options available for sale proceeds funds (three options if the funds are held to purchase a manse at a later date – see Manses below):

Sale of manses

In a manse situation – the funds can be earmarked ‘manse’ to purchase a manse at a later date. Interest from the sale proceeds can be accessed by the congregation. See the table below for investment options. More info on Sales proceeds page>