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.” “The documents we shared are public documents and you have a right to see them.” Bethel issued their own newsletter saying that the church was upset that it got out the word about the lawsuit before the church. Bethel has hired to handle the lawsuit, and with Ray and eight other church leaders also listed as signatories. The e-mail was written by Robert Ingram, a prominent Marietta attorney Mt. As such, we recommend cautious and careful review of any further statements and communications from this group.” Bethel and attempting to seize its property. Bethel may be acting as an extension, facilitator, or possibly an agent of the very party that is suing Mt. Our concern is whether the Friends of Mt. “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. Bethel of “inaccurate and misrepresentative third-party communications” about the disaffiliation request and litigation: Bethel members received another newsletter from church leadership accusing the Friends of 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. The UMC currently prohibits both, though Mt. 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. Bethel has declared an intent to disaffiliate from the UMC, but a vote cannot happen until next fall. I feel we are playing politics, instead of keeping Christ first.” Member Terry Dubsky wrote that “Frankly, with no insult to anyone, I believe we’ve lost our focus. “Now, it has become unbelievably divided. 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. Bethel, and that church members openly embraced newcomers to “this loving farm community. In her testimonial, she wrote about the pre-suburban days when that part of East Cobb was known as Mt. Bethel grew to having nearly 10,000 members, the largest congregation in the conference. Bethel members have been in the church for decades, including Charlotte Hipps, whose membership dates back 53 years, long before Mt. One of them is Donna Lachance, whom East Cobb News interviewed in June.īut with a lengthy and likely expensive legal battle only beginning, others have been speaking up. Bethel members opposed to church leadership had gone public with their concerns. 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.” In a newsletter issued to church members shortly after that, Ray compared 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. Steven Usry and declining to provide him office space or pay his full salary.Īfter Mt. Bethel also was accused by the Conference of refusing the reassignment of Rev. 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.
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