Please support local news coverage –

Donate Here

Elated ‘Friends’ move back into Quaker church in Portsmouth

Questions over ownership must still be resolved, however

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — What a difference a day makes.

On Sunday, May 3, Rick Lauder was preparing for a contentious legal battle regarding ownership of the Portsmouth Friends Meeting House, the oldest public building in Portsmouth. The Society of Friends Eastern Region in Canton, Ohio, which shut the building down and changed its locks in 2017, claimed ownership of the property and had recently put the church and its three-bedroom parsonage on 3.75 acres of land up for sale.

Mr. Lauder, a former minister at the Quaker church, said he was advised by his local congregation’s attorney, Jeremiah Lynch, to take back possession of the church. “Jay Lynch gave us a letter that said to repossess, re-enter and take the property,” Mr. Lauder said on May 3.

So he hired a locksmith, Paul Coristine, owner of Paul’s Lock & Safe in Newport, who gained access to the building the following day, May 4, while Mr. Lauder watched from his work van parked in front of the parsonage where he once lived.

He was in a better mood than the day before, to say the least. 

“We just got a call from (Mr. Lynch), saying the Ohio denomination, through their law firm in Warwick, has notified us that they’ve taken a new position. They do not object to our changing the keys and they do not object to us moving into the building,” said Mr. Lauder.

“This morning, I’m excited. Inside, I’m jumping up and down about the changes that have happened as of this morning.”

One stipulation, he said, was that the local congregation hand over a copy of the new key to Ohio “for inspection purposes,” he said.

“They want the ability to inspect the property, which I find rather ironical because they haven’t maintained this property in the three years they had it. You could see it with the roof leaking, which makes me sick,” said Mr. Lauder. 

The Portsmouth Friends Meeting House dates from 1700, according to Town Historian Jim Garman, a board member of the Portsmouth Historical Society. Only a couple of other private homes, which include remnants from the 1600s, date further back, he said.

Quaker history is “huge” on Aquidneck Island, said Mr. Lauder, noting that the 1638 Portsmouth Compact was signed by Quakers. “We live in an older part of the country, and Ohio doesn’t have the feeling for that,” he said.

When the property went on the market for $925,000 earlier this year, the Society and Mr. Lauder arranged with Kirby Realtors a special open house in hopes of drumming up local support to save the property. On March 7, nearly 100 people toured the 10,561-square-foot church building and its 1,541-square-foot parsonage. Many remarked on the size of the main building, which has many rooms that could potentially be leased out to local organizations. 

Now the listing is gone from Kirby Realtors’ website, as are the “For Sale” signs.

“I took them down a week ago and put them behind the wall. I pulled in this morning and I noticed that they have been picked up, so that is good news,” said Mr. Lauder. “The ‘For Sale’ signs woke up a sleeping giant. The people of Portsmouth are absolutely wonderful, and I can’t say enough good things about the Portsmouth Historical Society.”

Dispute not over

Despite that good news, the matter of who actually owns the property has still not been settled.

“We’ll have to test the role of the deed in court,” Mr. Lauder said. “We were verbally told 10 days ago that the denomination in Ohio was going to take us to court to test the strength of the incorporation. The argument I have is this church was 250 years old before it was ever affiliated with Ohio. Today is just step one. I’m absolutely delighted what I heard this morning. Does it change their position? No, but it certainly eased tensions.” 

Mr. Garman said he was also glad the dispute doesn’t seem to be as acrimonious now. “They don’t want to be bothered with it right now,” he said, referring to the Ohio group. “They still want the money obviously, but this is still a big step forward in terms of not just cutting everybody off and saying, ‘See you in court.’”

Mr. Lynch has reviewed the deed and contends the Rhode Island corporation — the Portsmouth Evangelical Friends Church — is the rightful owner and that the Ohio organization has no right to sell the property.

He said he’s not sure of the Ohio group’s intention. 

“I don’t know. I could speculate, but I don’t want to do that,” Mr. Lynch said, adding he doesn’t know if the Ohio group still plans to plan litigation if and when the courts open back up. “This is the beginning of something, but as to what will happen, I’m not sure.”

What next?

For now, the local Friends will continue making improvements to the property — something that got interrupted when it was closed down three years ago — and stay hopeful they’ll be able to once against manage its affairs going forward.

Mr. Lauder said there are three things he wants to do: use the church for worship, turn the property into a historic tour destination, and rent some of the rooms out to local groups. The financial independence of the cemetery, located in the back of the buildings, is important, he added. Although there’s an historical section of the cemetery, newer lots are still available for sale, with any proceeds going into a cemetery trust fund.

“We’re very much in support of the Friends doing this,” Mr. Garman said of the Society’s role. “Anything we can do to help, we want to be able to do. Maybe one day we’ll hold lectures in this hall.”

Mr. Lauder was asked whether he intends to be minister again.

“It’s not my goal to be Numero Uno here,” he said, noting he just wants to be one of the active players in getting the church back on its feet. 

“Time will tell. The good Lord opens and shuts doors.”

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.