African Episcopal Church Accused of Frequent Reassignments of Pastors' Amidst Sexual Misdeeds
NOTE: To our AME readers: Please don't take offense to what is written here. We have highlighted what the publication Our Weekly
had to say about the multiple reassignments and the controversy that
followed many of them. We are not bashing the AME church but revealing
some information that the public may want or need to know. Thank you!
We found an interesting article that lays out some of the reassignments done within the AME church. Our Weekly
reported recently that the AME church has made frequent reassignments
of their pastors who have been involved or exposed in sexual misconduct
and 'money issues' within the organization. We have seen this happen within other
denominational church organizations but Our Weekly happens to pinpoint a
patten of moving their clergy around when there just happens to be
controversy that follows their name.
Here's what they found:
- Pastor Frederick Murph of Brookins Community A.M.E. Church had been accused of encumbering church properties for more than $6 million. The Rev. C. Dennis Williams was reassigned to Christ Our Redeemer A.M.E. Church in St. Louis, Mo. He had presided at Brookins for less than two years before his reassignment.
- The new pastor at Brookins is Gregory McCloud from St. Louis. Williams had taken over at Brookins after Murph. Before that, Williams had taken over at Ward A.M.E. Church from the Rev. Sylvester Laudermill Jr., who was accused of molesting boys, first at St. Peter’s A.M.E. Church in St. Louis, then at Ward.
- Another reassignment was for Pastor Joseph Nixon at Ward A.M.E. Church. He was sent to Allen A.M.E. Church in St. Louis. He is being replaced by the Rev. Taurus Myhand from Grant A.M.E. Church in Long Beach.
Kirkland says the Methodist church is made up of an itinerant (traveling) ministry:
“Once they take their vows, which we do each year, you go where you are sent. I was assigned [as bishop] to the Fifth District. I’ve served four years [as head of the district]. I have a lot of rebuilding of the walls to do,” he said, referencing the book of Nehemiah. “My whole program was to restructure the district. Some in the East needed to come West and some in the West needed to go East.”Kirkland makes note that pastors go where they are needed and take a vow to go wherever the bishop and the presiding elders send them.
In other words, in the news about Pastor John J. Hunter and his reassignment to Bethel AME after leaving Los Angeles' First AME church, he says 'no' and reiterates that "the A.M.E. is an itinerant, or traveling, ministry and pastors and such moves come with the territory. But others say such reassignments did not necessarily apply in large churches where there were no major problems," reports Our Weekly.
Asked whether the congregation had any involvement in the decision, Kirkland said: “The congregation is always involved. They don’t determine [who stays or goes]. They will have some input, but the bishop and presiding elders take all that into consideration, based on what’s in the best interest of the church and the community.”Well, sounds like he's talking on two sides of his mouth when ultimately he's stating the church does not have control over who 'stays or goes', even if they can voice it. What an arrogant response to those who help build and keep that organization going in the name of Jesus!
Source
NOTE: To our AME readers: Please don't take offense to what we wrote here. We have highlighted what the publication Our Weekly had to say about the multiple reassignments and the controversy that followed many of them. We are not bashing the AME church but revealing some information that the public may want or need to know.
