East Cobb Faith & Religion Archives

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.”

Cobb Interfaith Habitat Coalition dedicates 21st home

September 25, 2021 11:29 AMSeptember 25, 2021 9:23 AM by Wendy Parker

Cobb Interfaith Habitat Coalition

Submitted information and photos:

On Sunday September 19, Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta and the Cobb Interfaith Habitat Coalition (CIHC) dedicated the coalition’s 21stHabitat home in Austell. The house was the first build started in 2021.

Future Homeowner Rachel Coates has built alongside coalition volunteers for nine weeks and is looking forward to moving into her own home with her children. Rachel is a 47-year-old single mom to Jeremy (13), and Polleen (12), and she works as a caregiver at Arbor Terrace at Burnt Hickory.

The Kenya native has lived in Cobb County for 13 years. Their family currently lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Marietta, which has become too small for them. She is very grateful for the opportunity to partner with Habitat and is excited about her future prospects of finally owning her own home.

The 2021 Coalition includes 12 religious organizations and four corporate members.

Faith partners include:

First Presbyterian Church of Marietta

St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church

Unity North Atlanta Church

Covenant United Methodist

McEachern United Methodist

Due West United Methodist

Smyrna First United Methodist

Bethany United Methodist

Temple Kol Emeth

Log Cabin Community Church

St. Catherine’s Episcopal

East Cobb Islamic Center

West Cobb Islamic Center

Corporate sponsors include:

Moore Colson CPAs and Advisors

Pinkerton & Laws

Truist (BB&T)

Atlanta West Carpets

The annual coalition uses the motto, “We Build to Coexist, We Coexist to Build.”

“For 21 years, this faithful, cross-denominational coalition has represented the best of our county, and always finds a way to build, no matter the challenges,” said Coalition co-chair and Habitat board member, Henry Hene. “It was very rewarding to again be building side by side with this special homeowner who worked so hard to make a better life for the next generation.”

“For more than two decades, this coalition has been a light in this community and a shining example of what people can do when they come together to improve lives,” said Jessica Gill, CEO, Habitat for Humanity of NW Metro Atlanta. “We are grateful for their unwavering dedication to our mission and bettering our community though stable and sustainable housing.”

Cobb Interfaith Habitat Coalition

ADL: Cobb schools response to hate incidents ‘disappointing’

September 24, 2021 12:34 PM by Wendy Parker

*Allison Padilla-Goodman, Anti-Defamation League*

The Southeast Region of the Anti-Defamation League isn’t satisfied with the initial response from the Cobb County School District regarding anti-Semitic incidents at Pope and Lassiter high schools.

Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday the students responsible have been identified and are facing disciplinary action, and Cobb Board of Education chairman Randy Scamihorn said he is crafting a resolution to address anti-Semitism.

But Thursday night, ADL vice president Allison Padilla-Goodman said in a statement that those responses don’t go far enough:

“It’s disappointing that after multiple antisemitic hate incidents in Cobb County schools this month, the Board of Education has still not indicated how it will respond. This goes beyond antisemitism — for years, incidents of racism, sexism, homophobia, and overall hate have gone unaddressed in county schools, and the disregard shown by the board illustrates a pattern of neglect in countering hate.

“If Cobb County’s goal is ‘One team. One goal. Student success’, disciplining those responsible for the hate incidents is not enough, a community-wide response that uses education is necessary. Stating values in a symbolic resolution is only part of combatting hate — we hope that the future actions from Cobb Schools contain commitments to action to achieve those values. The Cobb County community deserves a real response from their Board of Education and a commitment to specific actions and educational initiatives which can address the hate in their schools.”

Several members of the public, including two rabbis in East Cobb, spoke during the two board meetings Thursday about anti-Semitic experiences they or their children have had in schools. Some urged the board to introduce a broad educational program throughout the district going beyond anti-Semitism.

Until earlier this year, the Cobb school district had made use of the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” initiative, but that has been discontinued. More from the ADL statement:

“Beyond these recent antisemitic incidents, many Cobb County parents feel that the school district has a history of incidents of racism, sexism, homophobia, and overall hate, and a record of failing to effectively address those incidents.”

The statement included a video link provided by Stronger Together, which focuses on racial justice in Cobb schools, with parents making public comments expressing frustrations with how the board has handled some of those matters.

Ragsdale said he could not provide details about the disciplinary action but stressed that the Cobb school district “does not and will not tolerate hate in any form.”

Scamihorn, who attended a Yom Kippur service at Temple Kol Emeth last week, said his resolution is still in the works and that he wants to “take the time to do it right.”

He didn’t specify what elements and language might be included in that resolution.

In 2020, the Cobb school board could not reach a consensus on an anti-racism resolution in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis that sparked nationwide protests.

Democratic members Jaha Howard and Charisse Davis insisted on language that said that the Cobb school district has a history of “systemic racism” and urged the district to undertake “targeted anti-racist programs and policy.”

Republicans, including Scamihorn, objected, saying those words and demands undermined the ability to send a unified message.

The ADL is asking parents, students, teachers and staff to report hate incidents at its online portal.

Cobb schools bring disciplinary charges in anti-Semitic incidents

September 24, 2021 5:17 PMSeptember 23, 2021 3:44 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb schools anti-Semitic incidents — *“We are united in our disappointment” by the response of the Cobb school district, Congregation Etz Chaim Rabbi Daniel Dorsch told the Board of Education Thursday.*

Cobb County School District superintendent Chris Ragsdale said Thursday that student disciplinary charges have been brought in anti-Semitic incidents at two East Cobb high schools, but he didn’t elaborate.

Ragsdale said during a Cobb Board of Education work session Thursday afternoon that student disciplinary procedures required by state law preclude him from providing further information.

He also asked school board members to refrain from making public comments about the situation unless and until after any students subjected to disciplinary action would have an opportunity to appeal.

“The district does not and will not tolerate hate in any form,” Ragsdale said, reading from prepared remarks.

Before a public comment period at the work session, board chairman Randy Scamihorn said he was preparing a resolution condemning anti-Semitism but that it wasn’t ready.

There was nothing specific on the board’s meeting agendas about the anti-Semitic incidents at Pope and Lassiter.

Ragsdale’s comments came after several public commenters, including two rabbis in East Cobb, were critical of the district for its response to swastika and “Heil Hitler” graffiti found at Pope and Lassiter high schools over the last two weeks.

Those incidents also took place amid more general vandalism in lavatories as part of a social media stunt on the Tik Tok application that’s spread nationwide.

He said the district’s disciplinary recommendation is “sufficiently significant that the board’s members could likely hear it on appeal.

“I realize this may have begun as some kind of social media dare,” Ragsdale continued, saying that while such incidents are extremely rare in a school district with more than 100,000 students, “this district refuses to dismiss this incident as as some kind of prank.”

Those were his first public remarks since the incidents took place at Pope and Lassiter. Jewish and community leaders decried an earlier district reference only to “hate speech” and a similar response from Pope principal Thomas Flugum that didn’t specify anti-Semitism.

Lassiter principal Chris Richie did specify anti-Semitism in his letter to the school community, but Jewish leaders and community figures speaking before the board Thursday continued to express displeasure.

Rabbi Daniel Dorsch of Congregation Etz Chaim in East Cobb said he was speaking on behalf of several Jewish organizations that were “united in our disappointment” that “the school’s response specifically failed to address the hate by name—anti-Semitism, hatred against Jews.

“The failure by the administration to label it by name has left us feeling unheard and unseen.”

Rachel Barich, a past president of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, recalled an incident when her brother experienced an anti-Semitic vandalism of his locker after his Bar Mitzvah. That prompted their parents to pull them out of public schools in the St. Louis area.

“The district has a responsibility. There is much more work to be done,” said Barich, whose children are Cobb public school graduates.

“No child should attend a school full of hate and none of us can continue to believe that the problem has gone away.”

Scamihorn attended a Yom Kippur service last week at Kol Emeth at the invitation of Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, who thanked him at the board meeting. They have been discussing a possible resolution.

But Sernovitz also demanded specifics of what the school district would be undertaking along safety and educational lines.

“Right now, some of our students don’t feel safe in schools in Cobb County,” Sernovitz said. “It starts with swastikas and grows from there.”

Cobb schools parent Keith Hanks referenced the 1915 lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish pencil factory manger, at a spot near what is now Roswell Road and Frey’s Gin Road in Marietta.

That’s the only known lynching of a Jew in American history, and in 2018, former Kol Emeth Rabbi Steven Lebow led the rededication of a memorial to Frank as he continues exoneration efforts.

“The wounds of Leo Frank still ring true today,” Hanks said. “Cobb does not get the luxury to kick the can [down the road] because of its past.”

Scamihorn said he wants to discuss his resolution with colleagues and “take the time to do it right” before he brings it to the board for action. “But I wanted our community to hear that from me.”

At the Thursday evening school board meeting, Lassiter sophomore Hannah Levy said that as a Jew, she and some of her fellow Jewish students “do not feel safe at Lassiter.”

She said her parents were concerned about her speaking out, and that she’s afraid to wear her Star of David necklace to school.

“What is the school board going to do to fix this,” she said. “The longer you wait the more it’s going to fester.”

Levy said she and other Lassiter students want anti-hate and Holocaust education to be provided throughout the Cobb school district.

You can watch replays of both meetings by clicking here.

Jewish groups ask Cobb school board to condemn anti-Semitism

September 20, 2021 2:22 PMSeptember 20, 2021 1:25 PM by Wendy Parker

*Cobb school board chairman Randy Scamihorn*

As we reported over the weekend, the chairman of the Cobb Board of Education appeared at a Yom Kippur service in East Cobb last week following two anti-Semitic incidents at nearby high schools.

When East Cobb News spoke with Randy Scamihorn, who was invited to the high holy day service at Temple Kol Emeth by Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, we asked if he was considering asking the school board to issue a statement about the discoveries of swastikas and “Heil Hitler” scrawlings at Pope and Lassiter high schools.

Leadership teams at the individual schools are conducting investigations.

Scamihorn condemned the attacks, saying those who committed them are “woefully ignorant of what the swastika means.”

As chairman he could bring an item to Thursday’s school board meeting agendas unilaterally, but said in our interview Friday that “at this time, I’m going to let the investigations play out.”

Other board members need the vote of a majority of the board to add agenda items, following a late 2020 policy change.

Board members also are prohibited from offering public comments during their meetings on any subject. A policy change was made in 2019 that’s part of ongoing conflict among the seven-member body, typically along partisan lines.

On Sunday, Kol Emeth and other Jewish organizations in metro Atlanta launched an online petition that’s already surpassed 1,700 signatures out of a targeted 2,500:

“We are asking the Cobb County School Board and its associated schools to recognize and condemn all forms of antisemitism that occur on campus and to allow school principals the authority to condemn these acts and offer programming to proactively educate the student body and community about antisemitism and to prevent further occurrences.”

The groups include the Atlanta Initiative Against Anti-Semitism, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and other metro Atlanta synagogues.

Sernovitz and other Jewish leaders have been critical of the Cobb school district’s response, saying a message by Pope principal Thomas Flugum didn’t specify that they were anti-Semitic incidents.

The Cobb school district issued a response that didn’t make a reference to anti-Semitism but only to “hate speech” and urged “families to talk to their students about the impacts of inappropriate and dangerous trends circulating on social media.”

In a statement issued Monday, Lauren Menis, a co-founder of the Atlanta Alliance Against Anti-Semitism said the following:

“In refusing to call out the hate by name, as antisemitism, the Cobb County School Board is sending a clear message that these acts of hate are not significant. This is a teachable moment, and we need to seize it. By not naming it and not allowing anti-hate educational programming to address this in their schools, the schools have denied a valuable opportunity to help students learn from these events. Downplaying hate is unacceptable. We will hold Cobb County’s school board accountable. Their silence is unacceptable.”

The Cobb school board is delaying its September meetings—a work session at 2:30 p.m. and a business meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday—by a week in observance of Yom Kippur.

That schedule change was announced last Monday, after the Pope incident. On Wednesday, Lassiter school officials announced a similar incident had taken place.

Also on Monday, the Democratic House Leadership Caucus of the Georgia legislature issued a statement condemning the Pope and Lassiter incidents, including David Wilkerson and Erica Thomas of South Cobb.

Democrat Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish U.S. senator, also condemned the Cobb incidents in a Yom Kippur appearance at a Sandy Springs synagogue.

The Pope PTSA organization is planning a Nov. 20 event in response to the anti-Semitic incident there that will include a campus cleanup project as well as assemblies involving faith leaders from local Jewish, Catholic and Episcopalian congregations.

Response to anti-Semitic East Cobb school incidents: ‘A lesson in solidarity’

September 18, 2021 2:59 PM by Wendy Parker

*Rabbi Larry Sernovitz, Temple Kol Emeth*

Instead of presiding over Cobb Board of Education meetings Thursday, chairman Randy Scamihorn was attending a Yom Kippur service in East Cobb.

He had received an invitation from Rabbi Larry Sernovitz after anti-Semitic graffiti was found on bathroom walls at Pope High School last week.

As Scamihorn was asked to hold the Torah at the Temple Kol Emeth synagogue on the holiest of Jewish holy days, another investigation was underway for a similar incident at Lassiter High School earlier this week.

“Like many non-Jews, I am woefully inadequate in my knowledge of the Jewish religion,” Scamihorn said Friday in an interview with East Cobb News.

“I saw it as an opportunity to enhance my education.”

He said he was pleasantly surprised not just at the invitation to attend, but to take a leading part in one of the most meaningful aspects of the Yom Kippur observance.

Sernovitz and others in the local Jewish community are pushing for that receptiveness to spread throughout the community, and in particular the Cobb County School District.

After the Pope incident, the school board postponed Thursday’s scheduled monthly meetings for another week due to Yom Kippur.

But Sernovitz and other Jewish leaders said the district’s response has been inadequate. In a letter to the Pope community, principal Thomas Flugum didn’t specify the anti-Semitic nature of the graffiti, which included swastikas and “Hail Hitler” written above urinals.

Similar scrawling took place in a boys bathroom at Lassiter, where principal Chris Richie was specific, and further denounced the “deplorable symbols and language.”

Later, the Cobb school district issued a response that didn’t make a reference to anti-Semitism but only to “hate speech” and urged “families to talk to their students about the impacts of inappropriate and dangerous trends circulating on social media.”

The incidents took place apparently as part of a stunt on the Tik Tok social media app in which students vandalize school property and boast about it.

The “devious licks” challenge is being addressed by the social media company, but other reports of anti-Semitic incidents are unknown.

The Pope PTSA organization is planning a Nov. 20 event in response to the anti-Semitic attack that will include a campus cleanup project as well as assemblies involving faith leaders from local Jewish, Catholic and Episcopalian congregations.

It’s called “Team Up to Clean Up: Building Relationships through Service,” and details will be forthcoming, said Kelley Jimison, a Pope parent who’s leading the organizing effort.

“I see it as an opportunity to teach our students lifelong lessons,” she said. “What matters to me is that we have a chance to turn this around and make positive change out of this.”

Jimison stressed that what happened at Pope involved only a small number of students on a campus of around 2,000 students.

What she calls “a lesson in solidarity” is already taking place, as Pope students and staff produced the video below this week.

At an earlier Yom Kippur service on Thursday. Sernovitz addressed a congregant who’s soon to be Bar Mitzvahed and applauded him for being “proud of his Judaism” as he attends school.

“We’re proud of the education that you gave to your fellow students,” said Sernovitz, who also thanked parents for “staying strong and raising your kids in the face of indignity.”

Sernovitz was traveling this weekend and could not be reached for comment.

The Cobb school board will be meeting next Thursday, at which public commenters are expected to address the anti-Semitic incidents.

In speaking with East Cobb News, Scamihorn was reluctant to say whether he may bring forward an item condemning the attacks.

As chairman he can do that unilaterally, but said that “at this time, I’m going to let the investigations play out.”

Those responsible for the incidents, he said, are “woefully ignorant of what the swastika means.”

Board vice chairman David Banks, whose Post 5 in East Cobb includes the Pope and Lassiter attendance zones, also condemned the incidents, saying it’s “disappointing that we have students who would do something like that.”

What they did, Banks said, “has no Christian values.”

But he said the district processes for investigating alleged student misbehavior need to be followed, and that he’s not sure of all the details.

“We’re not going to hash it out in public,” Banks added, saying that by doing so it might become a national story. “It’s a local issue. Let the schools take care of it.”

Pope HS swastikas

Lassiter principal: Anti-Semitic graffiti found in restrooms

September 15, 2021 6:10 PM by Wendy Parker

Lassiter High School graduation rate

The principal at Lassiter High School informed his school community Wednesday afternoon that anti-Semitic graffiti was found earlier this week in restrooms.

In a message that went out to Lassiter families, Dr. Chris Richie said that swastikas and “Heil Hitler” were found scrawled in two restrooms, similar to what happened last week at nearby Pope High School.

“In both locations, the deplorable symbols and language were behind stall doors,” Richie wrote in a letter that has been posted on the Lassiter PTSA Facebook page.

He said the discovery was the result of an organized effort that began Monday to monitor student activity, especially in restrooms, following the Pope incident.

Richie said Lassiter restrooms have been checked on an almost hourly basis during the school day, and that school officials are reviewing video footage and conducting an active investigation into the anti-Semitic messages. The Lassiter resource officer also has filed a report.

“I am both angered and saddened by the appearance of symbols and words of hatred in our school and community,” Richie wrote. He added:

“When hate and ignorance surface in our school, we ask that parents engage in meaningful conversations and dialogue with your children. I can cite the Cobb County School District’s Administrative Rule that these hate symbols/speech violate, and I can talk to students in the morning over the announcements about repercussions for this despicable act; however, for these disgusting acts to stop, we must all come together as a school and a community to commit that Lassiter High School will be a safe, respectful environment for all students, faculty, and staff. We must work together to teach our students to be better.”

The Lassiter letter comes as Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, begins, lasting from sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Cobb Board of Education announced it was delaying its scheduled monthly meetings on Thursday by a week in observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Both Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb, who visited with Pope students, and the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta said the Cobb County School District response to the Pope incident was insufficient.

The ADL issued a particularly scathing statement, saying the school board’s recent decision to ban Critical Race Theory “could tie their hands in responding to and countering incidents of hate through educational initiatives for the school community.”

Mt. Bethel pastor likens church saga to Civil Rights movement

September 15, 2021 6:23 PMSeptember 14, 2021 7:11 PM by Wendy Parker

The day after Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church was sued by the denomination’s North Georgia Conference, Pastor Rev. Dr. Jody Ray sent a letter to the East Cobb church’s membership, accusing Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of “a power play.”

Mt. Bethel Church prayer service, Jody Ray — *Rev. Dr. Jody Ray at a prayer service at Mt. Bethel in July.*

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, seeks Mt. Bethel property and assets, as the denomination has claimed is its right under the UMC Book of Discipline governing document.

Ray resigned his UMC ministerial credentials this spring after being reassigned out of Mt. Bethel by Haupert-Johnson, touching off a fierce public controversy that has landed in court, after a failed attempt at mediation.

“So here we are today, mired in what many would characterize as a conflict over ‘appointments and property,’ ” Ray wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by East Cobb News (you can read it here).

He then wrote the following:

“Well, it is! But it’s for so much more than that. Describing our present challenges that way would be like saying Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott was all about where African-Americans could sit on the bus. Well, it was—but it was about so much more!”

He went on to explain how that event, in 1955, at the start of the modern Civil Rights movement, “changed the course of history for our nation.” Ray continued:

“Mt. Bethel, our conflict may center around ‘appointments and property,’ but it’s about so much more! It’s about contending for our faith.”

Referring to Mt. Bethel, he wrote toward the end of his letter that “our stand today—united in Christ—as proclaimed in the Scriptures will not only impact today but will also have an impact on generations of Christians in this community and globally in the future.”

You can read the lawsuit in full by clicking here; the case has been assigned to Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley but no initial hearings have been scheduled.

Some prominent Marietta legal teams have been hired on both sides. The North Georgia Conference has hired Cauthorn Nohr & Owen, led by former Cobb Superior Court Judge Thomas Cauthorn.

Mt. Bethel has retained the law firm of Moore, Ingram Johnson & Steele.

On Monday, Keith Boyette, the head of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, filed an application in Cobb Superior Court seeking pro hac vice admission. That’s when an attorney not licensed in a particular state asks to be admitted in a special instance.

The WCA is a consortium of conservative UMC congregations who’ve been planning in recent years for disaffiliation over theological disputes, centered highly on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages.

Mt. Bethel has been a leading member of WCA and has been a host of its annual conference. The church’s public comment issued after the lawsuit was filed urged for a vote for disaffiliation. The national UMC is to consider approving a protocol for that process in September 2022.

In his Cobb court filing, Boyette noted that he’s a qualified attorney licensed to practice in Virginia and that he has been retained by Mt. Bethel.

Cobb school board delays September meetings for Yom Kippur

September 13, 2021 6:38 PMSeptember 13, 2021 4:49 PM by Wendy Parker

Cobb school board COVID-19

The Cobb County School District said Monday is it pushing back the Cobb Board of Education’s monthly meetings in September due to Yom Kippur, the holiest observance of the Jewish calendar.

The board’s work session and voting meeting were to have taken place Thursday, but that’s during Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Instead, those meetings will take place next Thursday, Sept. 23, at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset Wednesday and continues through sunset Thursday.

From a Cobb school district release Monday afternoon:

“We recognize that Yom Kippur is of vital importance to our Jewish community members and have decided to postpone our regular meeting to ensure that as many of our community members as possible can participate.”

The district’s announcement also said that “while we understand that this schedule change may cause inconvenience to some, the Board and District are committed to making our meetings as inclusive as possible.”

The change comes a few days after the Pope High School principal announced an investigation was underway following the discovery of anti-Semitic graffiti on the wall of a boys bathroom.

There were two swastikas scrawled above urinals with the words “Hail Hiter!,” and prompted a visit to the campus Friday by Rabbi Larry Sernovitz of Temple Kol Emeth in East Cobb.

The Southern Division of the Anti-Defamation League in Atlanta said on Monday that the Cobb school district’s response to the Pope incident was inadequate.

In a Friday letter to assistant superintendent Christian Suttle, ADL regional vice president Allison Padilla-Goodman was critical of the district for failing to specify the incident as being anti-Semitic.

The ADL said that letter has gone unanswered, and in a statement issued to the media, she blasted the school board’s vote in June to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory.

She said it was a decision that “could tie their hands in responding to and countering incidents of hate through educational initiatives for the school community.” More from Padilla-Goodman:

“This is a direct example of how these shortsighted, politically-driven policies will have a detrimental impact on our children — antisemitic incidents, and hate of all forms, must be called out and countered as teachable moments and through educating the school community to create equitable, inclusive environments where all students can learn and thrive.”

She also noted that Cobb has dropped a public education campaign, “No Place for Hate,” that the ADL had offered to school districts.

There will be a special school board meeting this Thursday at 2:30 p.m. for a student disciplinary matter that is closed to the public.

Mt. Bethel Church sued by North Georgia UMC after mediation fails

September 9, 2021 7:13 PMSeptember 8, 2021 7:22 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

The North Georgia Conference the United Methodist Church is suing Mt. Bethel Church in East Cobb after attempts at mediation between the two feuding parties failed.

The lawsuit was filed in Cobb Superior Court on Wednesday by the trustees of the North Georgia Conference, which includes 800 churches and more than 340,000 members, and seeks Mt. Bethel properties and assets.

The Conference issued a brief announcement:

While the Conference and its representatives have engaged in negotiations with local church officials and have made good faith efforts to resolve the issues without litigation, the current situation has not changed and it is untenable. The Conference Board of Trustees will continue to take all necessary and appropriate actions to ensure compliance with the tradition and the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church.

The legal action (you can read the lawsuit here) seeks declaratory judgment against Mt. Bethel, which announced its intent to disaffiliate from the UMC this spring, after refusing to accept the reassignment of its senior pastor, Rev. Dr. Jody Ray.

Mt. Bethel leadership also refused to accept the reassignment of Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, declining to provide him office space and to pay him a full salary.

In addition, the church retained Ray as its CEO and top lay pastor, roles the Conference said violate the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing policies.

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.

The cover letter to the lawsuit is dated July 12, the start of a 10-day window given to Mt. Bethel to turn over church assets.

That’s also when the Conference announced it was installing the trustees to manage Mt. Bethel operations.

Two weeks later, the Conference and UMC announced mediation and said neither would be commenting further.

In the legal filing, the Conference said that “in order to make provision for the spiritual guidance and pastoral care of many of the Respondent’s [Mt. Bethel] former members, it is essential that this Court declare that all the assets are the property of the Petitioner.”

The lawsuit also seeks a permanent injunction “restraining and enjoining Respondent from exercising or claiming to exercise any right, record title, ownership, possession, enjoyment, use, control to and of the assets.”

Ray and Mt. Bethel leadership remain in charge of worship and other activities on both of the church’s campuses. Usry has not assumed his duties, saying he would not do so during the dispute, and he has been highly critical of Mt. Bethel.

East Cobb News has left a message with Mt. Bethel seeking comment.

UPDATED, THURSDAY, SEPT. 9, 7:15 P.M.

Here’s a statement Mt. Bethel has just released:

“We are deeply saddened that we were not able to come to a mediated solution with Bishop Sue Haupert-Jonhson and the Trustees of the North Georgia Conference.

“Mt. Bethel is a healthy, vibrant church with a 180-year history. Despite the ongoing pandemic, worship continues, ministry thrives, the school buildings and the playing fields are full, and attendance at our weekly services remain among the highest in the conference.

“We have been watching and praying for the final passage of the Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation when a special General Conference can finally take place (in fact, had the Protocol been passed in 2020 as originally envisioned prior to the pandemic, Mt. Bethel would have already parted ways with an increasingly progressive post-separation UM Church). Bishop Haupert-Johnson sees a different future, and she is entitled to her beliefs. Our beloved church is now simply asking for its voice to be heard; let us vote on disaffiliation. Give our members a chance to speak to the heart of our faith and stake a claim for the future of Mt. Bethel Church.”

ORIGINAL REPORT:

Mt. Bethel, with around 10,000 members, is the largest congregation in the North Georgia Conference.

The East Cobb church also is at the forefront of theological disputes within the UMC, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., that have led to a separation process delayed to 2022.

If that process—called Protocol for Reconciliation through Grace and Separation—is approved by UMC delegates, conservative congregations would be allowed to undertake a disaffiliation process, most likely to an entity called the Global Methodist Church.

That’s a denomination that’s been planned by the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a group of conservative churches that includes Mt. Bethel, and that was formed in recent years.

Among the points of contention within the UMC have been lesbian and gay clergy and performing same-sex marriages, both of which the denomination currently prohibits.

Ray, who’s been at Mt. Bethel for five years, was reassigned to a non-ministry role with the North Georgia Conference in April.

He said neither he nor Mt. Bethel were properly consulted about the move, as they claim the UMC Book of Discipline requires.

Ray turned in his UMC ministerial credentials immediately, and in his first sermon at Mt. Bethel after that, looked at his children and said “I want you also to remember this day, that your Daddy didn’t bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology. . . . which is no theology.”

Mt. Bethel UMC, North Georgia Conference enter mediation

August 2, 2021 10:42 PMJuly 29, 2021 11:55 AM by Wendy Parker

From a statement issued Wednesday by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church:

The Board of Trustees of the North Georgia Conference and Mt. Bethel UMC have issued the following joint statement:

Mt. Bethel UMC and the North Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church have jointly agreed to use their best efforts to resolve an ongoing dispute through a mediation process and will refrain from public comment on this matter until the mediation process has concluded. Mt. Bethel Christian Academy will also be included in the mediation process.

East Cobb News has left messages with Mt. Bethel and the Conference seeking additional information about the mediation process, which was not described in their statement.

The mediation agreement comes after several months of an open dispute between the East Cobb congregation and the local denomination office, often with pitched rhetoric and competing press releases.

In April, North Georgia Conference Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson reassigned Rev. Dr. Jody Ray to a non-ministerial position with the Conference. But Mt. Bethel balked, saying Ray was not properly consulted about the move.

He turned in his UMC ministry credentials and was retained by Mt. Bethel as a lay minister and CEO.

Haupert-Johnson said those moves went against the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing document. She also said the church created a new organizational structure and declined to provide Rev. Dr. Steven Usry, who was reassigned to Mt. Bethel, office space and to pay him a full salary.

Those were actions the Bishop cited in moving earlier this month to seize Mt. Bethel assets and install denominational management of the church, which has nearly 10,000 members and is the largest of the North Georgia Conference’s 800 congregations.

Mt. Bethel also has stated an intent to disaffiliate from the national UMC, which is scheduled to vote next year on a process for conservative congregations to leave.

The issues are over doctrinal differences, including gay clergy and performing same-sex marriages, both of which are currently banned in the UMC.

Mt. Bethel has been a leading force in the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is planning on forming the Global Methodist Church after any UMC separation.

In his first sermon since resigning from the UMC, Ray addressed his children by saying he would never “kiss the ring of progressive theology.”

Haupert-Johnson also declared earlier this that Mt. Bethel is a church “not in good standing,” which could prevent it from disaffiliation.

On Sunday, Mt. Bethel held a community prayer service in its main sanctuary, with Ray saying that “what the world needs now is a courageous church that is willing to stand up for what is right, for what is true.”

Former Johnson Ferry Baptist Church pastor Bryant Wright also told the Mt. Bethel congregation to prepare for “spiritual warfare,” which he said “intensifies when God’s about to do something good.”

The Mt. Bethel-Conference mediation announcement also did not detail anything more about why Mt. Bethel Christian Academy is involved in the process.

But in explaining its decision to seize assets, the Conference said that Mt. Bethel signed a 20-year lease of property to the Academy “without complying with the policies outlined in the Book of Discipline.”

The K-12 school, which holds classes at the main Mt. Bethel campus and on a facility on Post Oak Tritt Road, had 680 students in the 2020-21 school year.

In 2018 it was the only school located in Cobb County to be named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

At prayer service, Mt. Bethel urged to ‘stand firm on the gospel’

July 26, 2021 4:40 PM by Wendy Parker

Bryant Wright, Mt. Bethel prayer service — *Former Johnson Ferry Baptist Church pastor Bryant Wright said “spiritual warfare intensifies when God’s about to do something good.”*

A number of members of the clergy, both in-person and virtually, spoke to members of Mt. Bethel Church during a special community prayer service on Sunday.

The service took place in the church’s main sanctuary on Lower Roswell Road, and lasted more than two hours (you can watch a full replay here).

Mt. Bethel organized the service after officials with the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church moved earlier this month to seize the East Cobb congregation’s assets and install denominational leadership over the church.

It was the latest move in an ongoing feud between the Conference and Mt. Bethel, which announced its intent to disaffiliate after Senior Pastor Dr. Jody Ray was reassigned this spring.

Ray resigned his UMC credentials instead and is remaining as a lay minister and CEO at Mt. Bethel, which said it would defend itself in court if Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference takes legal action.

Ministers as far away as Africa and Brazil as well as metro Atlanta and Georgia spoke via recorded remote messages.

Those speaking to church members from the pulpit were eagerly applauded not just for their calls for prayer and uplift, but for defiance against denominational edicts.

“Realize who your enemy is,” said Rev. Bryant Wright, the retired founding pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. “It is not the Bishop, it is the devil.”

His lengthy remarks included a call to Mt. Bethel members to prepare for “spiritual warfare,” which he said “intensifies when God’s about to do something good.”

Wright read from Ephesians 6:10, which implored Christians “to stand firm,” and after referencing Protestant dissidents Martin Luther and John Wesley, Wright told Mt. Bethel members they should be thankful for a leader in Ray.

“When a leader is accused of division, that is straight from the evil one,” Wright said.

Former Mt. Bethel member Chuck Savage, the pastor at Sardis UMC in Atlanta, encouraged the present congregation “to stand firm on the gospel.” He referenced comments from President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War that “our concern is that we always be on God’s side because God is always right.”

Ray spoke briefly near the end, saying that “courage in moments like this doesn’t come from within ourselves. It’s the presence of Christ. O, that God would find us faithful in this hour.”

He added that “what the world needs now is a courageous church that is willing to stand up for what is right, for what is true.”

Ray then led the congregation in the Lord’s Prayer and offered a benediction.

Mt. Bethel UMC to hold community prayer event Sunday

July 22, 2021 2:16 PMJuly 22, 2021 12:50 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

Leaders of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church have organized a community prayer event Sunday as members of the East Cobb congregation “navigate the challenging circumstances facing their church community.”

A 90-minute guided prayer session will be led by 18 leaders of faith communities in the Marietta area “and around the world,” according to a release issued Thursday morning by Mt. Bethel.

The prayer event starts at 6 p.m. in the main sanctuary at Mt. Bethel (4385 Lower Roswell Road) and is open to the public.

Wednesday marked the deadline given Mt. Bethel by the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church to turn over property and assets in a long-running dispute between the two parties.

Last Monday, July 12, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson of the North Georgia Conference gave Mt. Bethel 10 days to make that transition in announcing that denominational leadership will be overseeing day-to-day operations of the church.

Instead, Mt. Bethel fired back three days later, saying the bishop was making a “false declaration” to seize assets, and that the church was prepared to defend its legal rights in court if she acted on the seizure.

East Cobb News left messages Thursday with the North Georgia Conference and Mt. Bethel seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for the North Georgia Conference would say only that “as I have a status update or helpful information I’ll share.”

The conference and Mt. Bethel have been feuding since Haupert-Johnson reassigned Senior Pastor Jody Ray in April, exacerbating longstanding theological issues and the prospect of Mt. Bethel disaffiliating from the UMC.

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

Mt. Bethel has refused to provide newly appointed Senior Pastor Steven Usry office space and his full salary, and Ray, who turned in his UMC ministerial credentials, is remaining as the church’s CEO and chief lay minister.

The North Georgia Conference said those actions, and others, violate the UMC’s Book of Discipline governing structures.

Mt. Bethel, which claims the bishop did not properly consult with Ray over the reappointment, declared in May its intent to disaffiliate.

Mt. Bethel is a charter member of the Wesleyan Convenant Association, which is aiming to form what’s being called the Global Methodist Church made up of conservative congregations.

The United Methodist Church was scheduled last year to begin implementing a “Protocol for Reconciliation through Grace and Separation.”

That’s a formal split in the second-largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. (around 12 million members), in which some churches would pull away over theological differences, including issues involving the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy and allowing same-sex marriage.

In a sermon delivered after his reappointment, Ray looked at his children and said “I want you also to remember this day, that your Daddy didn’t bow the knee, or kiss the ring, of progressive theology. . . . which is no theology.”

In her actions on June 12, Haupert-Johnson said Mt. Bethel also was not a church in good standing. Churches that are not in good standing in the UMC are not eligible for disaffiliation.

In announcing Sunday’s community prayer event, Mt. Bethel said that those attending “will focus on a particular aspect of heavenly-minded HOPE as a confident expectation and dynamic assurance of things unseen providing strength, courage and boldness for the future. ”

Nursery services will be available for those attending in person. The event also can be seen on four of the church’s streaming platforms: live.mtbethel.org, online.mtbethel.org, Mt. Bethel Church Facebook Live, and Mt. Bethel North Facebook Live.

Mt. Bethel UMC blasts ‘false declaration’ to seize assets

July 15, 2021 5:26 PM by Wendy Parker

Support Mt. Bethel button — *Mt. Bethel leaders are asking members to update their social media accounts to show their support for the church.*

The leadership of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church has provided a lengthy update to members about the decision by the Bishop of the North Georgia Conference to seize the East Cobb church’s property and assets.

In an FAQ format posted on the church website, Mt. Bethel claimed that Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson made a “false declaration” in declaring that “exigent circumstances” were present in order for her to seek an asset seizure, and for the conference’s board of trustees to take over church operations.

The decision was announced late Monday, and Mt. Bethel issued a heated response via a press release.

In the FAQ posted Wednesday, Mt. Bethel said that declaration “has been refuted in complaints that are presently under review by a higher authority,” a reference to the Southeast Jurisdiction College of Bishops of the United Methodist Church.

“As such, her actions are in disobedience to the order and discipline of the UMC,” read the Mt. Bethel update.

It continued that there are three complaints before the College of Bishops, and that Mt. Bethel has been seeking a “civil mediation process” that Haupert-Johnson has ignored.

In her announcement Monday, Haupert-Johnson said while the asset seizure and management takeover are immediate, Mt. Bethel has 10 days to make the transition.

In its update Wednesday, Mt. Bethel said that if the bishop “chooses to take legal action, we are prepared to defend our rights through the Georgia courts.”

The statement concluded:

“Mt. Bethel’s leadership remains undeterred in their trust of the Lord’s providence and protection, and faith in the protocols and processes of due process afforded the Church by the UMC Book of Discipline, and are grateful for the prayerful support of members, local ministry partners and community faith leaders,” read the statement.

East Cobb News has left messages with North Georgia Conference and Mt. Bethel leaders to get more information about some of these issues and others.

But neither side has responded to requests for interviews or information. Both continue to issue competing, strongly-worded statements, through the media and, in the case of Mt. Bethel’s Wednesday statement, directly to its membership.

North Georgia UMC to seize Mt. Bethel assets, manage church

July 13, 2021 8:58 PMJuly 13, 2021 1:00 PM by Wendy Parker

Mt. Bethel Church

The Board of Trustees of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church has voted to seize the assets of Mt. Bethel UMC and will operate the church effective immediately, the latest move in an escalating crisis with the East Cobb congregation.

In a statement issued late Monday, North Georgia Conference Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson said that “exigent circumstances” prompted the move, after Mt. Bethel strongly and publicly refused to accept the appointment of a new senior pastor, and made other moves she said violated the denomination’s Book of Discipline governing document.

Other details of the “exigent crisis” were explained at this Q & A, which include claims that Mt. Bethel leaders signed a 20-year lease of property to its Mt. Bethel Christian Academy “without complying with the policies outlined in the Book of Discipline” and planned “to use credit lines, transfer interests in assets, and sell property” without getting proper approval from the Conference.

The North Georgia Conference statement said that Mt. Bethel leaders and attorneys were notified Monday by Conference attorneys that the property seizures are immediate, and that the church has 10 days to complete the transfer.

According to UMC policies, individual congregations do not own properties or assets but are held in trust for the denomination.

The Monday decision means, according to the Conference, that it holds title to real, personal, tangible and intangible property.

“Unless this crisis is resolved by that time, the annual conference in June 2022 will decide whether to formally close the local church,” the Conference said. “In the meantime, the conference Board of Trustees will control all of the assets.”

Mt. Bethel church activities and operations will continue under the management of the trustees, according to the statement. This is the first time the North Georgia Conference has undertaken such a seizure.

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

“The Trustees are mindful of the concerns of employees, families, and members of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church and the families connected to the Mt. Bethel Christian Academy,” according to the statement, which you can read in full here. “Employment, instruction, activities, and worship at the church and Academy will continue, but under the direction and control of the Conference Board of Trustees.”

A Mt. Bethel statement issued Tuesday accused Haupert-Johnson of “engaging attorneys to go to civil court to seize assets that the faithful people at Mt. Bethel have freely and joyfully given for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and deed: assets which will become property of Mt. Bethel once it completes a process for disaffiliating from the United Methodist Church, initiated in April 2021. The Bishop is purposely delaying that process.”

The Mt. Bethel statement said the bishop “continues to escalate a crisis of her own” and that the church “will do all in their power to resist the aggressive actions against their church, and they will do all they can to restore the reputational damage Haupert-Johnson is inflicting on many local United Methodist churches that simply want to do ministry without the drama of her intrusive and threatening actions.”

The Mt. Bethel statement also said that she “hastily initiated an ill-timed and an ill-considered move that not only jeopardizes great ministry and missions at Mt. Bethel but also the health and reputation of her entire annual conference.”

East Cobb News has contacted the Conference and Mt. Bethel for further comment and information on the transition process.

The Conference statement Monday said that Mt. Bethel was notified on June 18 to resolve the issues surrounding the appointment of Rev. Dr. Steven Usry as the new senior pastor, effective July 1. They included the church’s refusal to provide office space and pay him a full salary.

In addition, Mt. Bethel retained senior pastor Dr. Jody Ray, who had been reappointed by the bishop to a non-ministry role with the Conference on racial reconciliation issues.

He refused, turned in his UMC pastoral credentials and was named the Mt. Bethel CEO.

In a pastoral letter sent out in late June, Haupert-Johnson said these moves were not in accordance with the Book of Discipline.

The Conference statement on Monday said Mt. Bethel leaders did not respond to the June 18 letter.

The Mt. Bethel Q & A prepared by the North Georgia Conference said Mt. Bethel also has been notified that it is not a church in good standing.

Mt. Bethel held a press conference in April announcing its intention to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church, but that action cannot happen until after the UMC General Conference in September 2022.

UMC churches not in good standing are not eligible for disaffiliation, according to denominational policies.

The UMC, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination, has been roiled by theological disputes in recent years.

In 2019, it announced it would begin a process of Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation, allowing congregations to methodically leave the UMC.

That vote was to have taken place in 2020, but due to COVID-19 concerns the UMC General Conference has been delayed until next year.

Mt. Bethel, with 10,000 members, is the largest church in the 800-church North Georgia Conference and is a founding member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, which is made up of more theologically conservative congregations.

Should Mt. Bethel disaffiliate, it is likely to join the Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative organization that is not an official denomination but that is planning to begin operations after the Protocol is approved.

Marietta Campmeeting returns after 2020 hiatus due to COVID

July 5, 2021 1:56 PMJuly 5, 2021 9:35 AM by Wendy Parker

Marietta Campmeeting returns

After being cancelled last year for the first time since the Civil War, the Marietta Campmeeting resumes this week through July 18.

The 183rd edition of the religious revival starts Friday with an opening picnic from 6-7 p.m., followed by the opening service at 7:30 p.m.

The full schedule can be found here, with two services daily and three on Sunday.

As in years past, the schedule includes children’s services, an ice cream social and tentholder meetings. After Saturday night’s service, there will be a watermelon-cutting.

Some of those events had been dropped last year when campmeeting organizers proposed a shortened, socially distanced schedule, but that also was scrapped as COVID-19 cases surged in Georgia last summer.

The campmeeting dates back to 1837, shortly after Cobb County was formed out of Cherokee County. During those times, Methodist ministers traveled widely as “Circuit Riders,” since many communities did not have their own clergy.

Most of the events are free and open to the public. The Campmeeting grounds are located at 2300 Roswell Road, across from East Cobb United Methodist Church.

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