Church fights bishop for survival of congregation

Описание: We are fighting to keep our property.

The Atlanta Lutheran Bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ((ELCA), Kevin Strickland is suing our small congregation of St Luke’s Lutheran Church in Thunderbolt, GA. .

We are a small Lutheran congregation of approximately eight church members. We have an elderly man who is 91 years old, we have mostly retired people, and a bi-racial family which attend. And we have visitors on a regular basis.

We have been around since 1930.

We have downsized in the past to continue our ministry. That’s all we want to do.

We have sold property in the past without any input from a bishop. They are given no authority in our constitution to be involved with an active congregation’s right to buy or sell property.

Per our constitution, we are not required to ask for his help when we sell property. We have downsized before without any help from the office of the bishop and we were going to do that again.

Out of courtesy we informed the bishop that we were going to sell the property. We were going to sell, that is, until this bishop gave us the ‘allow me to help” or else the “worse case scenario” talk in a meeting on Palm Sunday 2021 in our church. We own the property. We did not give it to the bishop. But he followed through with his worst case scenario, since we didn’t give him the property, and of course the potential buyer then backed out. We are devastated.

All we had wanted in selling the property, was to be able to downsize and use proceeds to continue our ministry as we have been doing since 1930., just in a different location. We’ve done this before, twice in fact, sold property without the bishop’s input or permission.

Kevin Strickland is the bishop of the Southeastern Synod and he was bishop when he met with the people of St. Luke’s. We have the full length digital audio recording 90+minutes available.

We have that audio, along with all of the emails and letters and documents, and made it available to the Synod Council (the board) in an email. Allegedly, they did not act on any of that information after receiving it. We also made that audio and all emails and letters available to the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton, and there was no apparent responses or apparent action from her or anyone. Nothing we know of.

Allegedly, there are many “inconsistencies” in his letters and emails. And we hope those get cleared up in his sworn testimony.

A similar situation could potentially happen to all small congregations. We don’t want this to happen to any other small congregation. Which is another reason why we are fighting! Martin Luther fought against the power the bishop had, way back in the 1500’s.

The bishop told us he was coming to the church to change the locks. Our attorney said that if he showed up we would have him arrested for trespassing.

Now he is suing us and there is a temporary restraining order in place against us so we have limitations on our church use. If the bishop wins this lawsuit we will be displaced, homeless, we won’t have a church home. If he doesn’t win the lawsuit, we can use the proceeds from the sale of the property to continue our ministry in a different location. That is what we have done in the past.

We have found a alternative worship spaces for when this is resolved.

Some people may say this is about power and control and money. Allegedly, if you take power, control and money out of this some believe none of this would’ve happened.

Here is the transcript, as best as possible because a few words are not clear, as to what was said during part of that 90+ minute meeting he had with us.

Kevin: when I try to help

when I give you my time

when I give you my heart

when I give you my trust

Don’t throw that away.

Don’t hurt that.

Don’t throw that away.

Don’t be disrespectful to that.

allow me to help.

So if you want to do all that, that is where you go.

Albert:
So what’s the Or Else? Allow me to help or else? What’s the Sword?

Missy:
awkward laugh: It’s kinda feeling like a threat.

Jill:
inaudible.

Kevin:
the worst Or Else is,
I can invoke the Synod Constitution,
I can take you to court,
I can close your congregation,
I can remove your pastor for the Roster List,
that’s what the worse case scenario could end.


Our call to action: call the bishop, tag the synod, and tell him to drop the lawsuit and the temporary restraining order. And, let us continue to be a Lutheran congregation with our current property so we can continue the Lutheran belief and to continue to live out and to tell the story of Jesus as an ELCA Lutheran congregation.

The bishop is to be deposed on May 3, 2022 in Atlanta. We hope he tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God.

Use your voice to help us. Unmute yourself.



Why is this small congregation so important to him?

Is this a David vs. Goliath?

Has he done this before?