Fight to control church enters final stages
The holy war between a rebel congregation and its governing body is set to be resolved in the Supreme Court.
This week's court appearance is the latest and possibly the last in a series of battles involving the warring sides for control of a small Pembroke Church.
On one side are lay preachers Willard and Gwyneth Lightbourne and their supporters. And on the other is the Synod of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.
The split between the Synod and a faction of the membership of Grace Methodist Church on North Shore Road in Pembroke evolved over a disagreement with Methodist affiliation to the United Church of Canada.
Some church members oppose the United Church's policy of ordaining gays, leading members of the Somerset and Cobbs Hill Road congregations to cut ties with Canada.
During several services last summer, Sunday churchgoers were caught in a religious tug-of-war as the rival factions staged separate services at the same time.
The services saw two ministers, each armed with their own programmes and pianists, compete for the congregation's attention.
The battle between the rebel congregation and the Synod moved from the pulpit to the courts last July when Mr. Lightbourne and the congregation filed a writ against the Synod in an bid to stop it from taking control of the church. The Synod counter-sued Mr. Lightbourne.
On January 6 of last year, after a bitter dispute over church leadership at Grace Methodist Church Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller ordered the church to hold two Sunday morning services. One by Mr. and Mrs. Lightbourne was to take place at 9.15 a.m. while the other by the Synod of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Bermuda was to start at 11.15 a.m.
During the first two days of this week's Supreme Court civil case, Wesleyan Methodist Church Synod lawyer Lawrence Scott argued that the case was solely a property matter.
Mr. Scott said that the land and the buildings on the North Shore site were given to the Church trustees and congregation by the Synod.
He said that when the rebels resigned from the Wesleyan Methodist Church they had no right to trespass onto the Church grounds or have access to the Church.
Yesterday, the court heard that during a January 26, 1997 meeting of the Continuing Congregation of Grace Methodist Church it was suggested that the names of 20 dissident parishioners should be removed from the Church membership book.
After that meeting the names were removed from Grace Methodist Church's membership book with the notation "as per letter to the Synod''.
Rena Henry, the current secretary and treasurer of the North Shore Church said the notation was referring to a June 15, 1995 letter sent to the Synod from rebel members reportedly relinquishing ties with the Synod and the United Church of Canada.
But Lightbourne's lawyer Ian Outerbridge, QC, pointed out that according to the United Church of Canada's Manual, the congregation had no powers to remove members from a church unless it was a disciplinary action.
Ms Henry admitted that there was no disciplinary hearing on the matter before the names were taken off the record.
And she conceded that the there were no references in the June 15, 1995 letter regarding resigning from Grace Methodist Church.
Canadian theology expert Dr. Victor Shepherd testified that when the Methodist Church joined the United Church of Canada in 1925 the two Churches subscribed to basically the same doctrines.
"True Methodism was not denied when it become part of the United Church of Canada,'' Dr. Shepherd said.
And he said that Methodist founder John Wesley would have had no problem with the two Churches uniting.
But he said that the United Church of Canada's 1988 official statement on homosexuality was seen as a departure from the moral law of God.
Dr. Shepherd said the Methodist Church founder would not have approved of the policy of ordaining gays.
"Wesley would have rejected anyone who engaged in homosexual behaviour from becoming a priest.'' The case continues today before Mrs. Justice Wade-Miller.
CHURCH CHU