A charge of racism has been levelled in the ongoing battle for the local Methodist Church pulpit.

The Rev. Charles A. Swan, a black Bermudian minister with the United Church of Canada, has criticised the Methodist Church's ministerial policies in a letter to the Editor.

"Some Bermudians see the occupancy of the pulpits by outsiders as a form of colonialism and a form of blatant systematic racism that has been practised,'' he said.

This latest skirmish was ignited from the unstettled row involving Grace Methodist Church and The Synod of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

The friction is the result of a three-year split between mainstream members of the 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. In his letter to the Editor, Rev. Swan sounded "a wake-up call to all true Methodists''.

"It is time to break the cycle of dependency on outsiders to manage your pulpits,'' he said. "The efforts of the Laity who have taken charge of the pulpit at Cobbs Hill and at Grace are to be lauded.'' Rev. Swan wrote he noticed during a service last year attended by all the AME churches that of the seven clergy present, all were Bermudian.

"I have also noticed that those churches with Bermudian clergy are all doing well,'' he said. "The Church of God, The Seventh Day Adventist, The Salvation Army, The Anglican Church, etc., all of them have Bermudian clergy. Even the Roman Catholic Church now has a Bermudian priest.'' And he praised the Immigration Department for beginning to enforce a Bermudian preference policy.

But Rev. Swan said only two Bermudians had been ordained from the Methodist Church in 66 years and he claimed that those who were interested were not encouraged.

"The official word from the Synod is no one offers,'' he claimed. "That is false. I know of at least four men who would have exercised effective ministry in the Methodist Church, but they were turned off and went elsewhere.

"If encouragement had been offered, a domino effect would have been created and by now every Methodists pulpit would have been occupied by Bermudians, with a surplus to draw on.'' And he claimed that the "decreased membership'' in the Methodist Church will not halt until the congregation broke "the cycle of dependency'' on United Church clerics.

In 1976 Rev. Swan noted his application was rejected by the Wesley Methodist Church, despite his qualifications.

A few years later, he was again rejected by the Methodist Church which claimed he was not capable of meeting spiritual needs since he was not trained in the Bethel Bible series.

In 1995, Rev. Swan retired prematurely from his ministry in Canada to take over the job of ministering to congregations at Cobbs Hill and Grace Methodist Church.

But at the time lay preacher Mr. William Lightbourne said the Synod's decision created an embarrassing situation for the invited minister, and the congregation had recently voted 17 to 3 to keep their lay preachers.

Yesterday, a former veteran member of the Methodist Church -- who asked not to be identified -- said she recently left the church because of the issues Rev.

Swan raised.

"I'm prepared to go to hell until He (God) proves to me and this country that He is a God of justice and equality,'' she said.

She said she found it difficult to tolerate the fact that the Methodist Church felt that white, Canadian ministers could preach in a "predominantly black church''.

"Black people need a black minister who can identify with them and their needs,'' she said. "Some of the beliefs of the United Church of Canada do not agree with what Bermudians believe.'' Echoing similar sentiments to Rev. Swan, she claimed nothing had been done to encourage Bermudians to enter the pulpit.

She also claimed racism was at the root of the problem.

However, a senior Methodist official, who asked not to be identified, told The Royal Gazette any lay preacher or Bermudian wishing to become an ordained minister need only to make their desire known to the Synod.

Then, he said, the prospective minister would need to go through the Process of Discernment.

"This is a period of at least a year where that person's call to minister is tested,'' he explained. "If their call to the ministry is genuine, if they have the temperament and the ability to undergo the necessary training, and if they are ready to accept the responsibility, then the candidate goes away to theology school once he or she receives a recommendation by a congregation and the blessing of the Synod.'' "The process is open and has always been open to Bermudians, black or white,'' he stressed.