members involved in a long-running dispute if they disobeyed court orders.

Methodist Church leaders yesterday claimed lay preachers Willard and Gwynneth Lightbourne had breached a January court order by Puisne Judge Norma Wade.

In January, after a bitter row over church leadership at Grace Methodist Church on North Shore in Pembroke Mrs. Justice Wade 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.

The friction is the result of a three-year split between the mainstream Methodist Church of Bermuda and Grace Church members over the Methodist affiliation with the United Church of Canada.

The congregation opposes the United Church's policy of ordaining gays.

But yesterday, Synod lawyer Sen. Lawrence Scott said the Lightbournes first breached the court order in January when they produced "an advertisement'' stating that they were holding Sunday morning worship at the Church Hall on January 12 at 11.15 a.m.

"And it has continued right up to yesterday (Sunday) morning's worship,'' he claimed.

"You also said that the keys to the church were to be made available to the Synod and they have not,'' Mr. Scott told Mrs. Justice Wade. "And there has been an `I don't care' attitude by the Lightbournes.'' Upon hearing this, Mrs. Justice Wade warned: "I have no hesitations of giving a prison sentence to anyone in contempt of a Court order.'' But the Lightbourne's lawyer Sonia Grant said her clients maintained they had not been conducting religious worship services.

"They have been in the hall,'' she said. "But there has been no service.'' And Ms Grant said she was not given sufficient notice of yesterday's court appearance since she was only served with papers last Friday morning.

Yesterday's court appearance was the latest in series of battles between the Lightbourne supporters and the synod advocates.

At several services last summer, Sunday churchgoers were caught in the 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 pianist, compete for the congregation's attention.

The battle between the church and the Synod moved from the pulpit to the courts in 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.

Yesterday, Mrs. Justice Wade adjourned the Synod's motion until tomorrow to allow Ms Grant time to prepare her case.

"It is really nonsense to have this going on and on,'' she added. "I'm not happy with the status quo here. The sooner we can deal with this the better.''