This is the kind of mess you get into when your Church is a 501(c)3 incorporated entity. This particular Church also serves as an election polling place. The Mark of the Beast is all over it!
York church's congregation asks court to help wrest control back from seven members
By JOHN HILTON
Daily Record/Sunday News
Literally.
A complaint filed recently in the Orphans' Court Division of the York County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of the majority of the congregation asks the court to invalidate all decisions made by a "joint board ministry" composed of seven "rogue" members, including York Mayor Kim Bracey.
They are also asking for the keys to the 401 E. Market St. church and unspecified monetary damages.
The complaint was filed in orphans' court, which has jurisdiction over nonprofit corporate governance.
Bracey said Tuesday she is a trustee and longtime member of the church, but said she was unaware of any court proceeding. William F. Hoffmeyer, longtime attorney for the church who represents the seven members, declined to comment on the specific allegations.
"I can say that the terminology in the complaint of quote 'rogue' unquote is completely out of order," he said. "They are the officers, and they've been the officers for many years."
The other six members named in the filing are Robert Roland, Geri Hartzog, Ira Avery Jr. and Benjamin Washington, all trustees; and Carl Jimerson and Mark Scott Sr., both deacons.
According to the complaint, they created a "joint board ministry" to manage church affairs in violation of the church constitution. "There is no basis or authority whatsoever for the creation of the 'joint board ministry,'" the complaint reads.
Benjamin Washington and Jimerson declined comment. Hartzog and Avery did not return calls for comment, and Roland could not be reached.
"You don't build churches on a hate program," Scott said. "I never would have thought any of this stuff would be going on here."
Congregant Stanley Washington said the problems began mid-summer when the seven members tried to give the Rev. Melvin R. Baber a salary increase.
Church clerk Carolyn Ray said Baber was paid about $45,000 annually.
Baber declined the raise, telling them they didn't have the authority to make that decision, said Stanley Washington, who is Benjamin Washington's brother.
"Each and every time they tried to overstep their bounds, (Baber) stopped them and said, 'Hey, you can't do that,'" Stanley Washington said. "He was a thorn in their side."
Within weeks, the seven members dismissed Baber and sent him a letter, dated Sept. 20, that advised him he would be charged with trespassing if he tried to enter the church, court documents state.
"Baber has been terminated by the church," Bracey said Tuesday, "but I think that's a personnel matter and a church matter."
The voicemail message at the church indicates that Baber is still pastor.
"My goal is to continue to be the pastor at Friendship Baptist Church," Baber said Tuesday when contacted at home. He declined further comment.
After Baber was dismissed and barred from the church, the seven members locked the doors for a few weeks, the complaint alleges.
"One Sunday, we had church services right outside on the steps," Stanley Washington said.
The congregation held a vote in October, and 85 percent voted to restore Baber as pastor, he added. The church has 162 adult members, and Baber has been its pastor since 2004.
Services have been conducted the past few weeks with a retired pastor brought in by the seven members, Ray said. But other church events, such as Wednesday night Bible study and choir rehearsals, are not taking place because church doors are being locked.
"It's all on their say-so," Ray said. "We have to call them and beg to be let in."
The congregation is represented by attorney C. Edward Browne of Nikolaus and Hohenadel, a Lancaster law firm.
Friendship Baptist Church is congregationally led, he explained, and its bylaws state that only the church as a whole can dismiss a pastor.
Online documents
Read Friendship Baptist Church's court filing here
What's next
The seven members -- called the "Rogue 7" in the court filing -- must file a response to the complaint in the Orphans' Court Division of the York County Court of Common Pleas.
If they contest it, the complaint will go before a judge.
jhilton@ydr.com; 771-2024
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