East Cobb Faith & Religion Archives

Marietta Campmeeting 2022: Partial list of speakers released

July 2, 2022 2:13 PMJuly 2, 2022 11:54 AM by Wendy Parker

Marietta Campmeeting returns

The 184th Marietta Campmeeting is scheduled for July 15-24, and Peter Vien, the organization’s president, has released a partial list of featured speakers for the revival event.

The celebration kicks off on Friday, July 15, with a morning service at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. service featuring Dr. Ike Reighard, the senior pastor of Piedmont Church in East Cobb, and CEO of MUST Ministries.

On Sunday, July 17, Rev. Kristin Lee, Sr. Pastor, East Cobb UMC, the home church of the Campmeeting, will be speaking. Other speakers include Rev. Johnny Foster of East Cobb Baptist Church, Dr. John Hull Eastside Baptist Church and Rev. Darrell Rice, VP/Community Revitalization, City of Refuge Atlanta.

Schedule updates are being made on the Campmeeting Facebook page and website. The Methodist affiliated Campmeeting, which began in 1837, resumed last year after being cancelled in 2020—for the first time since the Civil War—due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Campmeeting takes place at the Marietta Campground (2300 Roswell Road) and the public is invited to attend services and other events, including an ice cream social and watermelon cutting and childrens’ services.

Disaffected Mt. Bethel members ask: ‘How do we move ahead?’

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Disaffected Mt. Bethel members ask: ‘How do we go ahead?’

June 18, 2022 3:39 PM by Wendy Parker

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, North Georgia Conference UMC — *Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, North Georgia Conference*

More than 100 present and former members of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church met this week with the Bishop of the North Georgia Conference, who responded to claims that the denominational body “caved” in its legal dispute with the East Cobb congregation.

Earlier this month, the Conference entered into a settlement agreement with Mt. Bethel to allow it to leave the UMC with its property and assets in exchange for a $13.1 million payment and other terms.

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson said at a meeting of the Friends of Mt. Bethel this week that legal costs and voluminous deposition requests were mounting.

The Conference and Mt. Bethel have been in litigation since last September, but agreed to a consent decree that has been signed and is expected to be finalized by later this summer.

Mt. Bethel has 120 days to make the payment, and would then become an independent church. According to the AJC, Mt. Bethel is more than halfway toward reaching that goal.

“Our legal counsel was that if we wanted to settle the matter, which we thought was in the best interest of everyone, it would be better to do so before the deposition process began,” Haupert-Johnson said at the Friends meeting, which was held at Mt. Zion UMC in East Cobb.

“That would be a contentious phase. . . So much of our time was spent in the process of litigation and the constant discovery. It wasn’t caving. It was a missional decision above all else to free them to be about the overall mission of the Church.”

The Friends of Mt. Bethel was formed last fall by church members who opposed the congregation leadership’s decision to fight Haupert-Johnson’s reassignment of senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray.

Mt. Bethel also declined to accept her appointment of Rev. Dr. Steven Usry to succeed him, saying the church was not properly consulted.

After Ray refused his new post and turned in his UMC ministerial credentials, the Conference eventually moved to claim Mt. Bethel property and assets, followed by a failed mediation effort and litigation.

The Friends group numbers several hundred individuals on its mailing list, and has been meeting informally with Usry in recent months. They recently had a picnic and have had other fellowship events in the Sibley Forest neighborhood in East Cobb.

For Easter, Usry preached a sermon for them at another UMC in Atlanta, and the group is planning worship events at Roswell UMC the last Sunday of each month, with him presiding and with a choir.

“These events will give us a chance slow down, pause and deal with our anger and confusion together,” said Suzanne Tucker, Mt. Bethel’s former director of traditional music and creative arts.

She said she was terminated in April because she didn’t go along with Mt. Bethel leadership in the dispute with the North Georgia Conference.

“I am deeply saddened by what is going on,” she told East Cobb News in a message in May. “I am appalled at the power grab being attempted under the banner of Christ by Jody and his supporters.”

Those sentiments were echoed Tuesday at the meeting with Haupert-Johnson, who was joined by Usry.

Someone asked why “didn’t we just go ahead and evict Jody? He was trespassing. He was told he couldn’t be the minister of this Methodist Church and then he sat and squatted.”

Haupert-Johnson responded that “Have you ever tried to evict a tenant from a dwelling that you owned?”

Friends of Mt. Bethel picnic — *The Friends of Mt. Bethel have been holding worship and fellowship events in recent months, including a May picnic.*

Others asked her why Mt. Bethel won’t have a disaffiliation vote, as is called for in the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents.

Haupert-Johnson said that was the intention, and while “we knew Mt. Bethel might not go ‘woo-hoo a new pastor’ . . . we didn’t expect all that went on.”

She said the plan was to have Usry represent Mt. Bethel through such a proceeding. “But the leadership of the church took a different direction,” she said.

“When they refused the appointment, when they created their executive committee, when there was so much of that, we realized there was nobody in Mt. Bethel that represented the Methodist Church.”

Haupert-Johnson told the Friends of Mt. Bethel group that she pushed for Mt. Bethel to have a church conference for members to elect leadership this fall and then have a disaffiliation vote next spring.

“They soundly rejected that, every step of the way. So I would have loved for you to have a vote, she said. “I advocated for that to happen. But that wasn’t going to happen.”

Robert Ingram, the lead attorney for Mt. Bethel, previously told East Cobb News that his clients sought a vote because it would have cost “millions and million of dollars less” than what’s been settled.

“We wanted the court to allow a vote just on disaffiliation,” he said, explaining that only the North Georgia Conference superintendent could call for a such a vote.

“Despite our pleas, they never did that,” Ingram said.

Another attendee at the Friends meeting said “that I feel abandoned and unwanted and unnecessary in my own church of 38 years. My question is how do we go ahead? I’m missing spiritual guidance. I don’t have a church right now that I feel like I can go to and worship in.”

Usry said he will be providing pastoral care and shepherding to those Mt. Bethel members who aren’t inclined to go back, and “to provide environments that will help you discern a way forward.”

Tucker said there will be prayer events in July and August at Mt. Zion. She’s also organizing choir rehearsals that take place at East Cobb UMC.

In a video message this week, Ray said “we have a new task of rebuilding toward a new horizon.” He mentioned the fundraising campaign is off “to an amazing start” in asking for donations.

“God has moved in a mighty way on behalf of Mt. Bethel Church,” he said. “He has brought us through a time and place when had to turn our eyes to him and place our total reliance upon him.

“I believe that if we will continue in that same surrender and obedience, Mt. Bethel’s greatest days are out in front of us.”

Mt. Bethel, North Ga. Conference file settlement documents

June 8, 2022 3:30 PMJune 8, 2022 2:23 PM by Wendy Parker

A consent decree between Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and the denomination’s North Georgia Conference has been filed in Cobb Superior Court, and reveals more details beyond last week’s general announcement.

Mt. Bethel UMC, Dr. Jody Ray — *Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel UMC*

We’re reading through the full 125-page settlement (you can read it here), but the main terms are what was divulged last week—Mt. Bethel gets to keep its property and most assets and has 120 days from Monday, when the agreement was signed, to pay $13.1 million to the North Georgia Conference.

Mt. Bethel also will return certain intellectual property, including items with UMC insignia, and will officially remain part of the denomination until its obligations under the settlement are met.

After that, Mt. Bethel’s use of its property on its main campus on Lower Roswell Road will come with some restrictions.

That includes not using any of the parcels comprising the main church buildings and the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy as a headquarters or office for any religious denomination for seven and a half years.

Mt. Bethel has been an organizing member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which recently launched the Global Methodist Church, an international consortium of conservative congregations.

But Mt. Bethel officials say that once the congregation has left the UMC, it will become an independent church.

Mt. Bethel also is prevented from selling the Lower Roswell Road properties for seven and a half years without giving the UMC and the North Georgia Conference the right of first refusal to purchase them.

Once Mt. Bethel completes the real estate closing, the organization will become Mt. Bethel Church Inc. with a trade name of Mt. Bethel.

The settlement stipulates that other properties near the main campus—three homes on Fairfield Drive, an older adult center, a day care center and the Mt. Bethel church cemetery on Johnson Ferry Road—can be sold at any time.

However, those facilities also may not be used to house a denominational office.

Mt. Bethel’s North campus on Post Oak Tritt Road is not included in the settlement because church leadership last year placed the facility under the ownership of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy.

The North Georgia Conference objected to that action, since there wasn’t a vote taken by the congregation, which was required by the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents.

The settlement terms also include a provision that information collected through discovery will not be shared or discussed by any of the parties.

A preamble to the settlement notes that “both sides plan to look forward and honor the mission and ministry of each other as Christians. Accordingly, the Parties shall encourage their members to focus on the mission of Jesus Christ and not the past actions and alleged transgressions of each another, as referenced in the civil action now being mutually resolved.”

In a letter to Mt. Bethel members on Monday, pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, explained the terms, and concluded by saying that “we reiterate our great hope in the future of Mt. Bethel’s mission and ministry to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which we pray each and every one of you will be a part of.”

The Friends of Mt. Bethel, a group of church members opposed to the church’s actions against the North Georgia Conference, said that “while the settlement agreement may not be what we had hoped for, it does not change who we are. We are the beloved sons and daughters of the King. We will continue to pray for you as you prayerfully consider your steps forward. God has a place for all of us.”

They will be meeting next week with Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference at another Methodist church in East Cobb.

It was her reassignment of Ray to a non-ministerial post at the North Georgia Conference in May 2021 that set off a heated dispute lasting more than a year.

Mt. Bethel was among the conservative UMC congregations anticipating that the denomination would allow gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages, which are currently forbidden.

After Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials, he delivered a sermon in which he said he would not “bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology. . . . which is no theology.”

Mt. Bethel kept him as CEO and lay pastor, positions the North Georgia Conference said weren’t allowed under the Book of Discipline.

After Mt. Bethel refused to acknowledge his appointed successor, Rev. Dr. Stephen Usry, the Conference announced it would seize the church’s assets.

After mediation failed last summer, the Conference sued Mt. Bethel in September 2021, and Mt. Bethel filed a countersuit.

The United Methodist Church had scheduled a vote on protocols for separation in 2020, but its conferences have been delayed until 2024.

There won’t be a vote for Mt. Bethel to disaffiliate, as has happened with some churches in the North Georgia Conference recently.

Mt. Bethel’s attorneys said they wanted to have a vote of its membership, but the North Georgia Conference did not schedule one.

Mt. Zion UMC offering diversity scholarships for East Cobb students

June 3, 2022 1:10 PMJune 3, 2022 8:59 AM by Wendy Parker

Mt Zion United Methodist Church

Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in East Cobb is offering diversity scholarships to students in the area as part of its Life Skills Outreach Ministry.

It’s an extension of the church’s racial unification (RU) team that was formed in 2021, “to raise awareness of the issues facing historically marginalized populations.”

This year, the ministry “wishes to demonstrate the compassion that will benefit deserving students from our community.”

The ministry’s mission statement is that “We truly love others, recognizing our differences. We will listen intently, learn what others need, lament when others suffer or struggle, and leverage our gifts to help everyone, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Five college scholarships of $1,000 each will be distributed for the upcoming school year, and applications will be received through June 15.

They are merit-based scholarships for students in the East Cobb area, including the Sprayberry, Wheeler, Lassiter, Pope, Kell and Walton high school attendance zones.

Students receiving the scholarships must be enrolled in an institution of higher education for the 2022-23 academic year.

The RU team will review the applications and announce the recipients by Aug. 15. The RU team also will provide one-on-one mentorship for the scholarship recipients for life skills, character development and spiritual growth.

For more information and to apply, click here.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Mt. Bethel Church to keep property, pay $13.1M in settlement

June 2, 2022 5:30 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has finalized a legal settlement with the denomination’s North Georgia Conference that will allow the congregation to keep its property and assets at its two East Cobb campuses.

In return, Mt. Bethel will pay the Conference $13.1 million as it begins to leave the denomination following more than a year of highly charged rhetoric and legal action.

Robert Ingram, the lead attorney for Mt. Bethel, told East Cobb News on Thursday that the settlement has been agreed to by both parties, and awaits formal signatures.

He said once those signatures have been collected, he expects to file a motion in Cobb Superior Court early next week to finalize the agreement, and that it will take up to 120 days to become official.

Also next week, Ingram said, Mt. Bethel will be known only as Mt. Bethel Church, another significant step toward separating itself from the UMC, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination.

Ingram said Mt. Bethel will have up to 120 days to submit the payment to the North Georgia Conference, and will be conducting a fundraising drive.

“They’re going to be out of the UMC,” Ingram said of Mt. Bethel, which has been seeking in its lawsuit a vote to disaffiliate.

Mt. Bethel was sending out word to its members and the public Thursday about the agreement, which was forged after several weeks of discussions facilitated by Cobb Superior Court Senior Judge Mary Staley.

The settlement announcement comes as the North Georgia Conference is holding its annual meeting in Athens, with more than 70 congregations requesting disaffiliation.

Mt. Bethel is not among them, due to the litigation. A tentative agreement was announced in early May, but no terms were disclosed.

Last September, the Conference sued Mt. Bethel after several months of contentious actions and public statements over the denomination’s reassignment of Mt. Bethel senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray.

When Ray refused, Mt. Bethel announced its intention to disaffiliate from the UMC. Mt. Bethel and Ray claimed they weren’t properly consulted by the North Georgia Conference, which each spring makes clergy assignments based on the UMC’s “itinerant ministry” tradition.

Mt. Bethel’s conservative leadership also has been at odds with the UMC over theological disputes that include the ordination of gay clergy and performing same-sex marriages.

Currently, the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents forbid both, but the denomination is expected to change its policies.

Mt. Bethel has been a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative Methodist churches that have been planning to create a new denomination called the Global Methodist Church.

After mediation failed last summer, the North Georgia Conference filed suit in Cobb Superior Court attempting to seize Mt. Bethel assets and property valued at $35 million.

The denomination also claimed that Mt. Bethel was not a church in good standing, including its refusal to accept Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the Conference’s appointed successor to Ray, and was not eligible for disaffiliation.

The national UMC has been preparing for a split with more conservative congregations for several years. But international conferences to consider its Protocol for Separation and Reconciliation have been postponed due to COVID-19 measures.

When a conference scheduled for September was pushed back to 2024, the Global Methodist Church announced it was accelerating its launch to May.

On Wednesday, Wesleyan Covenant Association leader Keith Boyette—also a member of Mt. Bethel’s legal team—became the GMC’s senior executive and administrative officer, overseeing the denomination’s transition over the next 12-18 months.

Ingram told East Cobb News that because of the settlement, there won’t be a disaffiliation vote. He said Mt. Bethel wanted that to happen, especially because it would have cost “millions and million of dollars less” than what’s been settled.

“We wanted the court to allow a vote just on disaffiliation,” he said, explaining that only the North Georgia Conference superintendent could call for a such a vote.

“Despite our pleas, they never did that,” Ingram said.

He said Mt. Bethel has not decided whether or not to pursue membership in the Global Methodist Conference.

Mt. Bethel, with nearly 10,000 members, is the largest congregation in the North Georgia Conference, which oversees nearly 900 churches.

Before the lawsuits, North Georgia Conference records indicated that Mt. Bethel was more than $2 million behind in making annual “apportionment” payments dating back a couple of decades.

A more recent update shows that Mt. Bethel paid only $24,037 of the $627,889 of assigned apportionments in 2021, the lowest dollar figure and percentage (3.8 percent) in records dating back to the early 1990s.

None of the churches seeking disaffiliation this week are in Cobb, and many are splitting over similar differences in theology as Mt. Bethel. Late Thursday, North Georgia Conference delegates voted to accept the disaffiliation requests, including Sardis UMC in Buckhead and Ebenezer UMC in Roswell.

A group of Mt. Bethel members opposed to the church’s handling of the controversy sent out a message Wednesday under the headline “What Now?” The group has been meeting with Usry, who gave the sermon at a special Easter service for them at Collins Memorial UMC in Atlanta.

“Many of us have big decisions to make, and those decisions should be made with a heart of discernment,” said the message of the Friends of Mt. Bethel group. “Under the direction of Pastor Steven we are working to help members of our faith family determine how to move forward, and to take care of each other during this time.”

As for Usry, the Friends of Mt. Bethel said that technically, he is assigned to Mt. Bethel through June 30, 2023. It’s not clear how the settlement will affect his status.

“He will be available to serve any church members, or former church members, during this transition,” the Friends of Mt. Bethel message stated. “He will be working with Friends of Mt. Bethel UMC members to try to discern how we can best support our community during this time.”

Mt. Bethel Church, North Georgia UMC agree to settlement terms

May 6, 2022 3:05 PMMay 6, 2022 9:39 AM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

Nearly a year after a contentious dispute began between Mt. Bethel Church in East Cobb and the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, the two sides are close to reaching a legal settlement.

A tentative agreement has been reached following lawsuits filed in Cobb Superior Court last fall.

A joint statement issued late Thursday from the North Georgia Conference—which oversees nearly 800 churches, including Mt. Bethel—and the church reads as follows:

“The Trustees of the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church and Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church have jointly agreed to the general terms and framework of a full resolution of their pending dispute. All parties now look forward to the resolution of the civil litigation. We ask members of our faith communities for their prayers and patience during this time as we prepare formal documents to bring this dispute to a close.”

Tom Cauthorn, the lead attorney for Mt. Bethel, released an additional statement Friday:

“The parties are pleased to have reached a full settlement in principal that should allow them to return their focus to their true missions. It is also important to recognize the efforts of Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley for her willingness to spend several days meeting with the parties and attorneys in mediation, leading to this resolution.”

The details of the terms were not disclosed.

Jonathan Lawson, an associate pastor at Mt. Bethel, told East Cobb News that “beyond those two statements, we are unable to comment at this time, but will be happy to speak further with you at a future time as we progress.”

Mt. Bethel members were told Thursday night during an administrative council meeting about the proposed settlement.

Attorneys for Mt. Bethel and the North Georgia Conference have been meeting with Staley after a hearing in March in which they asked her to oversee settlement discussions.

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel last September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation. The regional denominational leadership has claimed it is the rightful owner of Mt. Bethel properties and assets it values at $35 million.

Mt. Bethel countersued, saying the Conference was engaging in a “fraudulent conspiracy” and demanded an accelerated vote to disaffiliate from the UMC.

Mt. Bethel, the largest congregation in the North Georgia Conference with more than 10,000 members, is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative Methodist churches that has been preparing for the creation of a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

Delegates to the United Methodist Church were to have voted on a set of protocols to allow more conservative congregations to leave in 2020, but its conference has been delayed several times due to COVID concerns and has been rescheduled for 2024.

The GMC moved up its activation date from September to May 1.

East Cobb Church plans taking shape after rezoning conflict

April 7, 2022 6:46 PMApril 7, 2022 3:45 PM by Wendy Parker

Jamey Dickens, East Cobb Church — *Rev. Jamey Dickens*

Before a lengthy process that culminated last fall in controversial fashion, East Cobb Church Senior Pastor Rev. Jamey Dickens was fond of saying of his congregation that “we want to love where we live.”

The leader of the newest of the North Point Ministries family of churches said community goodwill has been a focal point of its efforts to build a new facility at Johnson Ferry and Shallowford roads.

During months of delays for site plan and other revisions, Dickens said that “I had so many personal conversations [with nearby residents]. I walked in the neighborhood.”

But while nearby residents had no issue with the church, some heatedly objected to the high-density residential component of the mixed-use development, as well as traffic and stormwater issues.

And they were incensed in October when a site plan was filed days before Cobb commissioners were set to vote on the rezoning case, and without seeking community input.

Commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the project, which includes 44 townhomes and 51 single-family detached homes in a zoning category opponents said is too dense for the community.

“I never wanted people to feel divided,” he told East Cobb News in a recent interview.

But he said taking the time to work through site plan, traffic and stormwater details were worth it.

“I’m proud of the fact that we did spend so much time talking about it,” Dickens said. “That’s what the process is there for, and I do think it made [the development] better.”

In December, North Point completed the purchase of all 24 parcels of the 33-acre tract from the land development company of retired attorney Fred Hanna and his wife’s homeless ministry non-profit for an estimated $10 million, according to county deed records.

The Hannas insisted on selling their land all at once, complicating the rezoning case. A leader of a group of residents in opposition publicly stated it may not have been approved had a church not been applying. So did a member of the Cobb Planning Commission.

The Cobb Republican Party came out in opposition to the rezoning, and the case has been caught up in East Cobb Cityhood politics.

The Committee for East Cobb Cityhood has cited the North Point rezoning as an example of the need for more local control of planning.

But a resident near the North Point development, attending a meeting of the anti-Cityhood East Cobb Alliance, said his concerns about the rezoning were satisfied and “it made me a believer in local government” at the county level.

Dickens said the church has submitted an application for a land disturbance permit, and groundbreaking for the 125,000-square-foot church building and accompanying parking lot could take place by the end of the year.

North Point has sold 20.3 acres of the property assemblage for for the residential portion to be developed by Ashwood Atlanta.

A floodplain study was completed by the Federal Emergency Management Administration to determine the number of homes that could be built.

Cobb government spokesman Ross Cavitt said in a statement that the study “apparently resulted in a larger floodplain than expected, resulting in the loss of 20 units by the developer.”

We’re working to get more details of the site plan changes that have been made since the post-rezoning review process.

Dickens said a “conservative” estimate for the church opening would be in the first quarter of 2024.

“We’re taking it one step at a time,” he said.

Meanwhile, East Cobb Church is continuing to hold Sunday afternoon services at Eastside Baptist Church.

(On Easter Sunday, however, the church will have a 10:30 a.m. service at East Cobb Park.)

Dickens said the church currently has around 600-700 members, and it could grow to more than 1,000 in the new building.

“We just want to be a church that loves our community,” he said.

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

Mt. Bethel Church, UMC ask Cobb judge to settle lawsuits

March 15, 2022 4:33 PMMarch 15, 2022 3:46 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church UMC seek settlement — *An overflow crowd in Cobb Superior Court prompted the hearing to be livestreamed.*

The nearly year-long feud between Mt. Bethel Church of East Cobb and the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church may be settled soon.

At a hearing in Cobb Superior Court Tuesday, attorneys for both sides said they were dropping motions and delaying depositions as they try to resolve deep divisions over governance of the Conference’s largest congregation and how to determine ownership of Mt. Bethel’s properties and assets.

The attorneys also asked Judge Mary Staley Clark to mediate upcoming meetings as settlement talks begin.

Mt. Bethel countersued, saying the Conference was engaging in a “fraudulent conspiracy” and demanded an accelerated vote to disaffiliate from the UMC.

But in a packed courtroom on Tuesday morning, the charged rhetoric that has been exchanged between the two sides for several months was replaced by conciliatory language and a desire to iron out their differences.

Robert Ingram, chief attorney for Mt. Bethel, told Clark that the ideal way to reach an agreement is “with your persuasion rather than your orders.”

After reading through a proposed joint consent order, Clark said she would do that, and asked to meet with attorneys and parties for both sides separately.

(You can read the documents filed with the court on Tuesday here and here. You can also read all the court filings by clicking here and entering case number 21106801.)

The motions that were dropped include requests by North Georgia Conference Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, Superintendent Jessica Terrell and its board of trustees not to be joined together as defendants as well as Mt. Bethel’s motion for a default judgment.

Those parties will have 30 days to respond to Mt. Bethel’s countersuit, and discovery can continue through Oct. 15.

The order also states that no vote to close Mt. Bethel—which the Conference had threatened to do—will take place at its annual meeting this summer.

The Conference includes nearly 800 churches. Mt. Bethel has nearly 10,000 members on its two campuses on Lower Roswell Road and Post Oak Tritt Road.

During discovery, Mt. Bethel attorneys had subpoenaed at least one church member and requested documents from the Conference to its officials and other Mt. Bethel members as well as former Senior Pastor Randy Mickler.

It’s been 11 months since Haupert-Johnson tipped off the controversy by reassigning Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor, to a non-ministerial position at the Conference office in Atlanta.

He and Mt. Bethel objected, saying they weren’t properly consulted. Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials and was hired by the church as a CEO and lead pastor, actions the Conference said were not allowed in its Book of Discipline governing documents.

Doctrinal disputes within the UMC have been building for several years, notably over gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages, both of which are prohibited by the Book of Discipline.

But Mt. Bethel and other conservative Methodist churches have been anticipating that would change.

The UMC was to have voted on a protocol allowing them to leave the denomination in 2020, but COVID-19 concerns have prompted delays.

Mt. Bethel is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative Methodist churches that has been preparing for the creation of a new denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

When the UMC announced last month it was delaying its general conference again, to 2024, due to COVID-related travel issues, the GMC said it would move up its official activation date from September to May 1.

Among the leaders of the GMC is Keith Boyette, the WCA founder and a member of Mt. Bethel’s legal team.

Mt. Bethel UMC lawyers seek documents sent to former pastor

March 5, 2022 10:30 AM by Wendy Parker

Steven Usry, appointed Mt. Bethel pastor — *Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, appointed Mt. Bethel senior pastor*

Former Mt. Bethel UMC senior pastor Randy Mickler is among the church and denominational leaders named in a request for documents in the congregation’s legal battle with the North Georgia Conference.

So is Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, whom the Conference appointed to serve as Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor nearly a year ago, touching off a dispute that has landed in Cobb Superior Court.

A filing there on Wednesday by Mt. Bethel is requesting that the North Georgia Conference provide unspecified documents sent to them and other individuals as the discovery process continues.

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel last September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation.

Mt. Bethel is seeking an expedited vote to disaffiliate from the UMC in its countersuit, as well as recovering church assets and properties claimed by the Conference.

As East Cobb News reported last week, Judge Mary Staley Clark has scheduled a hearing on March 15 to consider motions in both suits. Both sides are seeking injunctions to be considered the week of April 25, according to court filings.

Mt. Bethel claims that the Conference engaged in a “fraudulent conspiracy” to strip the church of its properties, valued at nearly $35 million.

The documents request also seeks Conference documents sent to Mt. Bethel member Donna LaChance.

She’s part of the Friends of Mt. Bethel, a group of church members opposed to the actions by the congregation’s leadership.

LaChance has been outspoken on the topic, telling East Cobb News in an interview last June that the rift has “torn apart” a church community of nearly 10,000 members.

All of those named in the documents request are non-party individuals, meaning that they’re not part of either lawsuit. So is another church member who has retained an attorney after being issued a subpoena by Mt. Bethel lawyers to appear at a deposition.

That deposition, which seeks communications between the member and Conference officials as well as Usry, has been delayed to March 16.

Mickler was Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor for 28 years, and was succeeded in 2016 by Rev. Dr. Jody Ray.

Last April, Ray refused a reassignment from the Conference and turned in his UMC ministerial credentials. Mt. Bethel hired him as a CEO and lead pastor, moves the Conference says violate the UMC’s Book of Discipline governance procedures.

As East Cobb News has previously reported, Mt. Bethel is declining to provide office space and a fall salary to Usry. He’s also had the support of Mickler and has met with Mt. Bethel members off campus.

Usry also is considered a theological conservative, which is among the sticking points in the dispute.

Mt. Bethel is a conservative congregation and a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association. Its leader, Keith Boyette, is a member of Mt. Bethel’s legal team.

The WCA was formed in 2016 as theological differences in the UMC began to widen.

They center in particular on ordaining gay and lesbian clergy and performing same-sex marriages, both currently forbidden by the UMC.

But conservatives anticipate that changing, and also formed a more conservative denomination, the Global Methodist Church.

On Thursday, the Global Methodist Church announced it was formally launching on May 1. That follows the decision by the UMC to postpone its General Conference to 2024 due to continuing travel issues related to COVID-19.

That conference was to have been held in 2020, with a vote likely on allowing conservative churches to leave.

(You can read the Mt. Bethel documents by clicking here and entering case number 21106801.)

As Mt. Bethel UMC lawsuits proceed, church member subpoenaed

February 24, 2022 2:21 PMFebruary 23, 2022 6:03 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

Attorneys for Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church have issued a subpoena for a church member and may call others for depositions as lawsuits proceed involving the East Cobb congregation and the denomination’s North Georgia Conference.

A deposition with the church member that was scheduled for Wednesday has been delayed to next Tuesday after she retained a lawyer, according to filings in Cobb Superior Court.

(You can read the Mt. Bethel documents by clicking here and entering case number 21106801.)

The North Georgia Conference sued Mt. Bethel in September after months of conflict over reassigning its top clergy and a failed attempt at mediation (you can read the lawsuit here).

In addition to trying to recover church assets and properties claimed by the North Georgia Conference, Mt. Bethel is demanding in its countersuit (you can read that here) that it vote to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church before the denomination’s scheduled General Conference meeting in September.

The Mt. Bethel church member is addressed in the subpoena as a “non-party,” meaning she is not a defendant or other party in the suits.

She was ordered to appear at the offices of Mt. Bethel’s attorneys with communications between her and “any agent of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church” regarding Mt. Bethel or the lawsuit.

The subpoena also ordered her to provide communications between her and Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the appointed senior pastor at Mt. Bethel that the church has refused to accommodate, as well as Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson and superintendent Jessica Terrell of the North Georgia UMC.

The church member also was ordered to provide communications between her and members of the press and between “you and with any person since Jan. 1, 2018” regarding Mt. Bethel or the suit.

Cobb Superior Judge Mary Staley Clark has scheduled a March 15 hearing to consider motions in a lawsuit filed against Mt. Bethel by the North Georgia Conference, as well as Mt. Bethel’s countersuit. Both sides are seeking injunctions to be considered the week of April 25, according to court filings.

Mt. Bethel leadership has called a church administrative council meeting for Sunday at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary on the main campus (4385 Lower Roswell Road).

On Friday, Mt. Bethel’s lead attorney sent a congregation-wide e-mail explaining that the process of collecting documents and testimony from “from individuals and entities they believe may have knowledge of relevant facts” is part of every lawsuit, “and such requests are in no way accusatory, nor should assumptions be drawn based upon them.”

That message, written by Robert D. Ingram of the prominent Marietta law firm of Moore, Ingram, Johnson & Steele, added that “while the inconvenience and disruption caused by the discovery process is unfortunate, it is an important tool for developing and preserving relevant facts. It is in this way that the truth both comes to light and may then be presented in a court of law.”

‘What purpose is served by this?’

Mt. Bethel members who are against the actions by church leadership have formed a group called the Friends of Mt. Bethel, and on Tuesday sent out an e-mail denouncing the subpoena of the church member.

“Our church is using this legal process to go after some of its own members, people who are in no way responsible for any of the decisions at issue in this lawsuit,” said the Friends of Mt. Bethel e-mail.

The message acknowledged that while issuing subpoenas to its members is legal, “it should never have happened. These members are not parties to the lawsuit, and they had no involvement in the decisions at issue in the case. Their private messages should not have been requested by Mt. Bethel, nor should the Conference have shared them without a court order.

“Imagine the amazement, concern, and fear when people realize their own church has served them legal papers and that they must now obtain legal counsel. What purpose is served by this?”

Mt. Bethel, with nearly 10,000 members, is the largest of the 800 congregations comprising more than 300,000 members in the North Georgia Conference.

The Mt. Bethel dispute arose in April 2021, when Haupert-Johnson reassigned Rev. Dr. Jody Ray, Mt. Bethel’s senior pastor, to a non-pastoral post in the North Georgia Conference office.

Mt. Bethel refused the reassignment of Usry to replace him, alleging the church was not properly consulted. Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials and was hired by Mt. Bethel as a lead pastor and CEO.

The church also declined to provide Usry office space or pay his full salary. Although he has met with Mt. Bethel members elsewhere since his appointment, he said he is staying away from the Mt. Bethel premises during the legal dispute.

Mt. Bethel’s countersuit lists North Georgia UMC leadership as defendants, as well as five “John Doe” defendants it describes as “unknown individuals or entities who conspired with the other counterclaim and third-party claim defendants and engaged in the wrongful conduct described herein.”

According to Mt. Bethel, North Georgia UMC officials and other defendants in the Mt. Bethel countersuit “agreed, schemed, combined and aspired . . . to prevent Mt. Bethel’s disaffiliation vote and to take its property.”

After declaring it was not a church in good standing, the North Georgia Conference concluded that “exigent circumstances” prompted it to possess Mt. Bethel properties and assets, and ordered it closed.

Claims of ‘fraudulent conspiracy’

Mt. Bethel claims that’s part of a “fraudulent conspiracy” to strip the church of those properties, valued at nearly $35 million by the North Georgia Conference.

Activities at the main Mt. Bethel campus on Lower Roswell Road and another property on Post Oak Tritt Road are continuing, and Ray remains in the positions created for him.

The North Georgia UMC said those actions and others, including Mt. Bethel’s treatment of Usry, violate the denomination’s Book of Discipline governing procedures.

Nearly 200 UMC delegates are asking that the General Conference be delayed to 2024 due to continuing COVID-19 issues.

That policy-making body was originally scheduled to meet in 2020, but has been delayed by COVID-19 concerns.

The UMC—the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.—has been roiled in recent years by conflicts over theological issues, particularly gay and lesbian clergy and performing same-sex marriages.

The UMC currently bans both, but conservative congregations, including Mt. Bethel, formed the Wesleyan Covenant Association in 2016, anticipating that would change.

The North Georgia Conference claims churches not in good standing are not eligible to have a disaffiliation vote.

Former UGA coach Mark Richt to speak at Cobb Prayer Breakfast

February 19, 2022 2:28 PMFebruary 19, 2022 11:16 AM by Wendy Parker

Former University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt will be the keynote speaker at the Cobb County Prayer Breakfast on May 5.

The breakfast takes place at the Cobb Galleria Centre starting at 7 a.m. on May 5, which is the National Day of Prayer.

Richt coached the Bulldogs from 2001-2015 and compiled a record of 145-51. He also coached his alma mater, the University of Miami in Florida. He currently is a college football analyst with the ACC Network and last year was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.

Richt was a longtime assistant coach at Florida State University under Bobby Bowden before he came to UGA.

Scott Gregory, co-chair of the Cobb County Prayer Breakfast Committee, said “Coach Richt’s faith walk has been such an enormous influence on scores of young people over the years, including my own.

“I was fortunate to attend Fellowship of Christian Athlete meetings in Tallahassee as a young person, where Coach Bowden and Coach Richt shared the importance of faith, family and football. The stories and lessons had a lasting impact on me. We are so grateful to Coach Richt for his willingness to join our community in prayer and to share the power of prayer and faith with us.”

Tickets for the prayer breakfast are $30 each and tables of 10 and sponsorships are available at http://www.cobbcountyprayerbreakfast.org.

For additional information contact: ccprayerbreakfast@gmail.com.

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‘Bring back what Christmas is all about;’ East Cobb churches hear messages of hope and light

December 25, 2021 3:36 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb Christmas messages — *“We search for Christmas in what we want, but we really find it in what we need,” said Rev. Ike Reighard of Piedmont Church.*

A second Christmas under the scope of COVID-19 was an unavoidable topic in messages delivered by East Cobb ministers to their congregations on Christmas Eve.

But those sermons also expanded the context for familiar themes of inspiration that Christians seek as they celebrate the birth of Jesus, the formative event of the their faith.

“Do you feel like darkness is winning the day?” Mt. Bethel Church senior pastor Jody Ray said, repeating words from the Book of Isaiah about how “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”

“Jesus is the answer,” Ray said. “He is the light and he is the hope for the future.”

After recounting the story of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”—written after a long period of religious retreat in England—Ray admitted that “this past year has been rough,” especially with a continuing pandemic that is surging again with the Omicron variant.

Economic pain, the loss of loved ones, depression and addiction have been magnified as a result, he said.

“We know what darkness feels like, what it looks like,” he said. “We’ve been there.”

Ray called for a revival of the true spirit of the season, setting aside “secular mumbo-jumbo” to “bring back what Christmas is all about.”

At Piedmont Church, Rev. Ike Reighard delivered a similar message, noting how the task of discovering Christ gets lost amid the holiday rush of gift-giving.

“You really find the presence of God in the extraordinary things of the story,” Reighard said.

“We search for Christmas in what we want, but we really find it in what we need.”

He also urged his congregation to follow the admonitions of the angels to the shepherds seeking the Christ child: “Do not be afraid.”

“There’s not been such an upheaval” in American society since World War II, Reighard said in reference to current times, recounting economic and health concerns, as well as those of children whose young lives and educations also have been especially disrupted.

“God’s got you covered,” Reighard said, noting that there are 365 references in the Bible urging people to be unafraid—one for every day of the year.

At Hope Presbyterian Church, Rev. Martin Hawley also drew upon the Book of Isaiah to issue a message of hope and light.

The “King Jesus,” he said, came to earth to take “sin-drenched people like you and me and to fill our hearts with light.”

At the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation, Pastor Uijin Hwang drew upon Christ’s birth from the Book of Luke to proclaim that “Jesus Christ broke down the barriers between God and us. He made peace between God and us.

“His death on the cross opened the way for humankind to receive forgiveness and true life without ever being put to death,” he said. “If this is not true peace, what is it?”

The past year also has been a challenging one inside one of East Cobb’s biggest churches.

Ray didn’t reference Mt. Bethel’s months-long dispute with the United Methodist Church that included him turning in his UMC ministerial credentials.

He’s been retained by Mt. Bethel as it seeks to leave the UMC, but the denomination’s North Georgia Conference has filed a lawsuit in Cobb Superior Court.

In his Christmas Eve message to a congregation that claims more than 9,000 members, Ray drove home the promises in Isaiah of the birth of Jesus, exclaiming that “this baby was the message.

“He would come as a light and he would change the world and history. If you will experience that tonight, it will change your life too.”

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb churches offering in-person, online Christmas services

December 18, 2021 2:07 PM by Wendy Parker

East Cobb 2021 Christmas service schedule — *St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church.*

This time a year ago we rounded up for what many Christian faith communities in East Cobb were online-only Christmas services.

While many of those churches are still offering live-streaming for worshippers who’d rather stay at home, most opened up for in-person attendance months ago.

We’ve updated our full schedule page with times and dates of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at churches in East Cobb that have made that information available.

They’re generally open to the public but each church has a different set-up for in-person and live-streaming, and a few are having special outdoors or parking lot services that are not noted in the listings.

Also, COVID-19 protocols differ from church to church, especially regarding masks and vaccinations. Click the church link for detailed information about what’s required or encouraged to to attend.

To report incorrect or updated information or to add a service you don’t see here e-mail: editor@eastcobbnews.com.

Christmas Week holiday events in and around East Cobb

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Cobb Catholic Habitat coalition dedicates final home of 2021

November 27, 2021 2:56 PMNovember 27, 2021 10:55 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Catholic Habitat dedication

All three Catholic churches in East Cobb—Holy Family, St. Ann and Transfiguration—participated in the construction of the Cobb County Catholic Coalition’s final Habitat for Humanity home project of 2021.

That home was dedicated on Nov. 20 and presented to Getachew and Tezita Zegeye and their two-year-old daughter in Austell.

That’s where Getachew Zegeye has been working, and commuting from Clarkston, for the last eight years.

The project was started on Sept. 11 and was completed in 10 weeks. Members of other churches that took part represented St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church.

“We could not do what we do in this community without the devotion and commitment of the Cobb Catholic Habitat Coalition,” Jessica Gill, CEO of NW Metro Atlanta Habitat, said in a statement. “They live out their commitment to faith and service through changing the lives of families year after year.”

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Mt. Bethel Church allowed to retain Methodist leader in lawsuit

November 15, 2021 5:25 PM by Wendy Parker

Keith Boyette, Wesleyan Covenant Association, Mt. Bethel lawsuit — *Keith Boyette, Wesleyan Covenant Association*

A Cobb Superior Court judge has granted a request by Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church to add a leader of the denomination’s conservative wing to its legal team.

Judge Mary Staley Clark ruled in a motion on Friday that Keith Boyette, head of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and a qualified attorney in Virginia, could work on behalf of Mt. Bethel in a pro hace vice admission.

That’s when an attorney from one state is granted special admission in a court in another state in a specific case.

Attorneys for the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church filed an objection to Mt. Bethel’s request, contending that Boyette was actively involved in the East Cobb congregation’s attempts to disaffiliate, and that one of his “primary goals was to take land and buildings currently used by the United Methodist Church from the United Methodist Church so that they can be used by a newly formed denomination.”

But Staley Clark noted in her motion that the State Bar of Georgia, “having investigated the matter, found that Mr. Boyette has paid the requisite fees for pro hac vice admission.”

It was the first legal disposition in what figures to be lengthy litigation involving the North Georgia Conference, which in September sued Mt. Bethel over assets and property following a months-long dispute.

In April, North Georgia Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson reassigned Mt. Bethel senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray to a non-ministerial position.

Mt. Bethel announced it was not accepting a new pastor, and Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials. Mt. Bethel has kept him on as CEO and lay pastor, positions, the Conference say violate its Book of Discipline governing protocols.

Mt. Bethel then announced its intent to disaffiliate from the UMC and declined to provide Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the newly appointed senior pastor, office space or pay him a full salary.

The Conference further ruled that Mt. Bethel was not a church in good standing, and ordered it to turn over its properties and other physical assets. Attempts at mediation fell through over the summer.

Mt. Bethel’s counterclaim to the lawsuit, filed Oct. 8, seeks an accelerated vote on disaffiliation.

Mt. Bethel has nearly 10,000 members and is the largest denomination in the North Georgia Conference.

It’s been grappling for years with doctrinal and other disputes increasing in the UMC, especially over same-sex marriages and lesbian and gay clergy.

Mt. Bethel has been actively involved in the creation of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is being tapped as a future destination for conservative Methodist congregations.

Boyette has been a leading figure in what would be called the Global Methodist Church.

But national UMC delegates are not scheduled to vote on allowing congregations to break away until September 2022 at the earliest, due to COVID-19 delays.

The Mt. Bethel Administrative Council scheduled a meeting for members on Monday night.

Mt. Bethel leadership has a special page on its website with its response to the lawsuit and the dispute with the North Georgia Conference.

A group of members upset with the congregation’s leadership, which calls itself Friends of Mt. Bethel, has formed its own website and started a newsletter.

Temple Kol Emeth to hold Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service virtually

November 13, 2021 3:15 PMNovember 13, 2021 2:19 PM by Wendy Parker

The East Cobb synagogue Temple Kol Emeth is having its 17th annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service in virtual form this year.

The service takes place next Thursday, Nov. 18, starting at 6:45 p.m. with music, followed by the service at 7 p.m.,

A livestream will be available at this link.

The service features music and messages from a variety of faiths and faith communities, including Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, Congregation Etz Chaim, the East Cobb Islamic Center, Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Emerison Unitarian Universalist Congregation, St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church, Transfiguration Catholic Church and Unity North Atlanta Church.

The theme of this year’s service is “Rebuilding Hope Together.”

Each year the service collects donations for its Give-A-Gobble program, which purchases Thanksgiving turkeys and food for those in need.

This year’s recipient is East Cobb-based United Military Care, a non-profit that supports veterans in crisis.

Among the speaks is United Military Care founder and president Kim Scofi.

If you’re interested in donating, you can do so by clicking here.

More information on the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service can be found here.

Sprayberry PTSA Craft Show returns Nov. 20-21

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Mt. Bethel UMC asks for disaffiliation vote in counterclaim

October 9, 2021 12:03 PMOctober 8, 2021 5:26 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

Mt. Bethel Church announced Friday it has filed a counterclaim in a lawsuit filed against it by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

In a press release issued shortly after 5 p.m., Mt. Bethel said the counterclaim is asking that members of the East Cobb congregation be allowed to vote on disaffiliation before national UMC delegates are scheduled later next year to consider a protocol for allowing conservative churches to leave.

The Mt. Bethel countersuit is more than 300 pages; you can read through it by clicking here.

The church’s full statement (which is essentially the opening statement in its countersuit) is included in full below; yesterday we posted about the looming deadline for Mt. Bethel to file a response to the lawsuit, which was filed by the North Georgia Conference on Sept. 8.

Mt. Bethel announced its intent to disaffiliate in April, after senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray was reassigned.

The church balked, saying it wasn’t afforded proper consultation, and has refused to provide office space and full salary to his appointed successor.

The Conference said those actions and others are violations of the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing documents, and declared that Mt. Bethel was not a church in good standing.

Churches under that status are not allowed to disaffiliate under UMC policies.

Since the lawsuit was filed, Conference attorneys have been attempting to prevent Keith Boyette, head of the conservative Wesleyan Covenant Association, from joining the Mt. Bethel legal team.

In a Sept. 30 court filing, they alleged that Boyette has “encouraged the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church to disregard mandates and other doctrine” handed down by the Conference.

Mt. Bethel’s administrative council is scheduled to have a meeting with members on Monday.

Mt. Bethel press release:

Mt. Bethel Church today filed its responsive counterclaim and third-party claim in the Superior Court of Cobb County against the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, its Trustees, Bishop, and District Superintendent (Regional UMC Administrators). The claim asks the Court to require that they permit Mt. Bethel to move forward with a vote to disaffiliate from the UMC as is afforded in the denomination’s Book of Discipline.

Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference (NGC) orchestrated a pastoral conflict with Mt. Bethel beginning in April 2021. In response, on April 14, 2021, Mt. Bethel’s Administrative Council voted to begin the disaffiliation process, which has yet to be scheduled by the NGC despite a deadline for its completion.

“If the Regional UMC Administrators really believe the rhetoric they have been spreading—that [Mt. Bethel’s] 50-member Administrative Council unanimous vote was a rogue take-over by a few local church leaders who do not in fact speak for the majority—then, LET THE CHURCH VOTE!,” reads the filing.

Mt. Bethel is a thriving 10,000-member congregation with substantial assets. In addition to blocking the disaffiliation voting process, the NGC has retaliated against the church by proclaiming a sham “closure” and take-over of the local church and its assets, based on the Regional UMC Administrators’ inaccurate and pejorative claim of ‘exigent circumstances.’

Mt. Bethel leadership sought to resolve the issues with the NGC via the processes outlined in the Book of Discipline as well as through civil and church-led mediations, but on Sept. 8, NGC’s Trustees filed a lawsuit against Mt. Bethel intended to punish the church and to intimidate other traditional United Methodist churches in the conference that might also be considering use of the disaffiliation process.

“Despite this action by the Regional UMC Administrators to punish Mt. Bethel, Mt. Bethel continues today to perform ministry in the name of Jesus Christ throughout Metro Atlanta and in places all over the world,” the filing states. “It is sadly ironic that the Regional UMC Administrators accuse Mt. Bethel of violating unwritten ‘conditions of disaffiliation’ while themselves violating the express text of the Book of Discipline disaffiliation procedure the General Conference adopted.”

Declaring the NGC is asserting ownership over property in a deliberate effort by the Regional UMC Administrators to dry up Mt. Bethel’s resources by deterring member contributions, Mt. Bethel is seeking immediate injunctive relief from the Cobb County Court.

Mt. Bethel facing deadline in responding to UMC lawsuit

October 7, 2021 1:52 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has until Monday to respond to a lawsuit filed against it by the denomination’s North Georgia Conference.

In the initial filings in Cobb Superior Court dated Sept. 8 is a notice stating that Mt. Bethel has 30 days to provide a response, excluding the date of the complaint, or “judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.”

The notice was signed by Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor and is a standard provision of lawsuits (you can read the full Mt. Bethel complaint here).

Mt. Bethel is being sued by the North Georgia Conference as part of a months-long dispute over the East Cobb church’s refusal to accept the assignment of a new pastor, and to turn over property and assets after it announced its intent to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church.

In April, North Georgia Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson reassigned Mt. Bethel senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray to a non-ministerial role in the Conference as part of the UMC’s traditional spring moving day.

But Ray and Mt. Bethel refused, claiming they had not been provided proper consultation as called for in UMC policies.

After turned in his UMC ministerial credentials, church leadership retained him as CEO and head lay minister.

The Conference said those and other Mt. Bethel actions violated the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing policies.

Mt. Bethel also is not providing office space to Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, the Conference’s designated successor to Ray, nor paying him his full salary.

East Cobb News has left a message with Mt. Bethel seeking comment on its response to the lawsuit.

Mt. Bethel has nearly 10,000 members and is the largest denomination in the North Georgia Conference.

It’s been grappling for years with doctrinal and other disputes increasing in the UMC, especially over same-sex marriages and lesbian and gay clergy.

Mt. Bethel has been actively involved in the creation of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is being tapped as a future destination for conservative Methodist congregations.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Casey Alarcon, chairwoman of the Mt. Bethel Staff Parish Relations Council (the church’s main governing body), wrote a commentary on the WCA website defending the “unashamedly theologically conservative congregation’s” positions.

She wrote that Mt. Bethel “is a healthy vibrant church despite all the turmoil and disruption Bishop Haupert-Johnson has caused. . . . But now our bishop thinks it is necessary to drag one of her healthiest congregations into the secular courts. It is truly a sad day.”

The national UMC is scheduled to meet next September to decide whether to accept protocols to allow congregations to leave.

Mt. Bethel has petitioned in Cobb Superior Court to allow Keith Boyette, the head of the WCA and a licensed attorney in Virginia, to join its case.

But according to the most recent court filings, North Georgia Conference attorneys are attempting to quash that move.

In a petition filed Sept. 30, North Georgia Conference attorney Tom Cauthorn said Boyette should not be allowed to participate because of a conflict of interest—he has “encouraged the congregation of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church to disregard mandates and other doctrine” handed down by the Conference.

“One of Mr. Boyette’s primary goals was to take land and buildings currently used by the United Methodist Church from the United Methodist Church so that they can be used by a newly formed denomination,” the Conference filing states.

“One of his organization’s goals is to encourage churches to do exactly the type of things that [Mt. Bethel] did in this matter.”

(You can read the entire letter by clicking here).

Cauthorn concluded that Boyette’s application “may be an attempt to prevent discovery into communications” between Mt. Bethel and Boyette.

Cauthorn’s memo included a copy of a July 28 Mt. Bethel e-mail to congregation members recounting the saga and defending its defiance of Haupert-Johnson and Conference directives.

The e-mail was signed by several dozen WCA board members and chapter presidents around the country. It concludes:

“We have sadly acknowledged that we would not be able to remain as one church. But not all are through with the fighting. Not all are committed to a gracious parting. There are still those who are determined to have winners and losers and who are committed to winning, even if a different view of ‘the faith once and for all delivered to the saints’ and a belief that victory can be achieved through power and intimidation.

“The attempt of your bishop and the North Georgia Conference to seize control of your property and assets, as a thriving church, is unprecedented as far as we are aware. . . .

“Other churches in your conference are frightened that if this can be done to you, it can certainly be done to them. Orthodox churches around the country with progressive bishops are also watching closely, knowing that how your situation is resolved may embolden or restrain their bishop from following Bishop Haupert-Johnson’s lead.”

‘Friends of Mt. Bethel’ growing more vocal against church leaders

September 25, 2021 3:50 PM by Wendy Parker

Friends of Mt. Bethel

A group of members of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church opposed to the church’s leadership in its legal battle with the regional denomination have begun speaking out in greater numbers in recent weeks.

Several dozen individuals have listed their names in the About page of a new website called the Friends of Mt. Bethel, which began earlier this summer in newsletter form.

They include “member stories” written by individuals expressing their concerns about the situation that’s been brewing since the spring, when senior pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray refused a reassignment by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Ray turned in his UMC credentials and has stayed on as a lay pastor and CEO, in defiance of what the Conference has said is a violation of the denomination’s Book of Discipline governing document.

Mt. Bethel also was accused by the Conference of refusing the reassignment of Rev. Dr. Steven Usry and declining to provide him office space or pay his full salary.

After Mt. Bethel declined to turn over property and assets, a mediation process was attempted and when that failed, the Conference filed suit in Cobb Superior Court on Sept. 8.

In a newsletter issued to church members shortly after that, Ray compared Mt. Bethel’s situation to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, saying the struggle is over more than appointments and properties and “it’s about contending for our faith.”

Until recently, only a few Mt. Bethel members opposed to church leadership had gone public with their concerns. One of them is Donna Lachance, whom East Cobb News interviewed in June.

But with a lengthy and likely expensive legal battle only beginning, others have been speaking up.

Some of the Friends of Mt. Bethel members have been in the church for decades, including Charlotte Hipps, whose membership dates back 53 years, long before Mt. Bethel grew to having nearly 10,000 members, the largest congregation in the conference.

In her testimonial, she wrote about the pre-suburban days when that part of East Cobb was known as Mt. Bethel, and that church members openly embraced newcomers to “this loving farm community.

“The spirit of Mt. Bethel has not been extinguished completely, but for the last five years it has been dimming rapidly,” Hipps wrote, referring to the length of Ray’s tenure as senior pastor. “Now, it has become unbelievably divided. So many have given up and walked away.”

Member Terry Dubsky wrote that “Frankly, with no insult to anyone, I believe we’ve lost our focus. I feel we are playing politics, instead of keeping Christ first.”

Mt. Bethel has declared an intent to disaffiliate from the UMC, but a vote cannot happen until next fall.

That’s because the national UMC has delayed a vote on allowing conservative congregations to leave amid theological disputes that have centered largely on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages.

The UMC currently prohibits both, though Mt. Bethel is a leading member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a consortium of conservative UMC churches formed in 2016 in anticipation of a split.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Mt. Bethel members received another newsletter from church leadership accusing the Friends of Mt. Bethel of “inaccurate and misrepresentative third-party communications” about the disaffiliation request and litigation:

“We also have reason to believe that this group may be in contact with the Trustees of the North Georgia Conference, as they shared a document this week, related to pending litigation, that was not part of the public record. Our concern is whether the Friends of Mt. Bethel may be acting as an extension, facilitator, or possibly an agent of the very party that is suing Mt. Bethel and attempting to seize its property. As such, we recommend cautious and careful review of any further statements and communications from this group.”

The e-mail was written by Robert Ingram, a prominent Marietta attorney Mt. Bethel has hired to handle the lawsuit, and with Ray and eight other church leaders also listed as signatories.

In response, the Friends of Mt. Bethel issued their own newsletter saying that the church was upset that it got out the word about the lawsuit before the church. “The documents we shared are public documents and you have a right to see them.”

The Friends group said it was comprised of church members who “who disagree with the path of civil disobedience our leadership has chosen for our church.”

They further insisted that “the attacks, derision, and downright bullying of church members who simply oppose the path we are on have got to stop. Mostly, we seem to have differences of opinion and interpretation, which should be allowed in civil society.”

On Wednesday, the day the Friends of Mt. Bethel site went live, Mt. Bethel Church posted on its Facebook page a note of thanks for:

“Continued prayers and support we have received over the past several weeks and months. God has given us an incredible community to walk beside us during these uncertain times. No matter what we may face, we take comfort knowing we will never walk through it alone. If you, too, are navigating the unknown today, rest assured we serve a faithful God that is bigger than our circumstances.”

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‘What purpose is served by this?’

Claims of ‘fraudulent conspiracy’

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