Cal-Nevada Conference takes Fresno-St. Luke's to court

Involuntary leave of absence sought against St. Luke's pastor

Updated Friday, September 15, 2000 4:34 AM

By Review staff

A dispute over who"s in charge at Fresno-St. Luke's UMC ended up in a Fresno County Superior Court September 7. During a 50 minute meeting in chambers, Judge John Fitch denied a temporary restraining order sought by the Conference, which would have turned over control of Fresno"s largest United Methodist church to the regional leadership.

Fitch ordered lawyers to agree on a trial date regarding control of the property, and a 364-day lease of the church facilities which the church board approved. The lease is with a non-profit corporation set up as a community church by St. Luke's UMC members and leadership.

Pastor David Wainscott continues to preach at the church, despite being suspended Aug. 15 from all pastoral activity by the Conference, and the appointment of a retired pastor to replace Wainscott, on an interim basis. After the temorary court order was denied, Wainscott told Fresno media he couldn't believe the denomination "took it to this level."

Because of Wainscott's refusal to step away from the church, the Conference is seeking an involuntary leave of absence for him. Wainscott was suspended for starting the new congregation while appointed as a United Methodist pastor, and for advocating that churches upset with Bishop Melvin Talbert withhold their apportionments, and send them to an escrow account he and five other pastors had set up.

As reported in the Sept. 1 Review and on our web edition for that issue, Fresno Dist. Supt. Vickie Armour Healy said that Wainscott, "has been organizing and planning a non-United Methodist Church, including establishing 'St. Luke's Community Church" as a non-profit corporation, and soliciting funds for this church during the morning worship." Healy said that"s prohibited under United Methodist policy.

Wainscott told the Review, "It is not true that I have ever solicited funds for St. Luke's Community Church during worship. No on has ever heard me do that, or accused me of doing that, and I have told Vickie that I never have. Tapes of every worship service re available which will clearly prove this. I, and our wonderful leaders, have gone out of the way to navigate all this with humility and integrity, so you can imagine how frustrating it is to have this quote all over the conference accusing me of doing something everyone knows I have never done."

"The (Book of ) Discipline says 'No pastor shall arbitrarily organize a pastoral charge,' in paragraph 332," Healy said. A pastoral charge is United Methodist language for a church. (Now retired) Bishop Melvin Talbert said at the time of the suspension that Wainscott"s new church is "a violation of his covenant relationship with us, and he is no longer entitled to receive an appointment with that kind of action."

Wainscott defended his actions. "I do not see that as starting a new church at all, it is merely a faithful continuance of a decades old ministry. My family has been UM for generations, and I have had no desire to leave the denomination." Wainscott denied that he had been "planning and orchestrating this for years."

"Let no one believe this is about homosexuality. That is only one manifestation of the deeper issue: What is Scripture and Who is Jesus?" The Fresno pastor alleged that, "We are not leaving the denomination, the denomination has left us."

"When General Conference and Annual Conference allow our system to break Scripture and Discipline, it is clear sign that something is so fundamentally wrong," he alleged. "I–in essence–am being forced out simply because we must take a stand for the clear teachings of Scripture and Discipline."

A complaint has been filed against Wainscott. Action on the complaint and the involuntary leave are pending. A hearing is set for Monterey, Sept. 26. If he bypasses the hearing, the involuntary leave could happen the next day.

Whether that would change what's happening at the church is not predictable as this is written. Expect St. Luke's to try to retain the property as it pulls away from the denomination.

Wainscott disputed a report from United Methodist News Service, which quoted Bishop Talbert as saying that attorneys for the conference and St. Luke's are meeting to discuss the congregation's desire to leave the denomination and take the property.

" I am not aware of any such meeting," Wainscott said. "In fact I believe our attorneysw ere told, that there would never be one. This is what we are asking for at this point," he said, "that Bishop Shamana at least follow up on the apparent promise of Bishop Talbert that we could at least talk about possibilities."

No court date has been made public in the superior court case between the Conference and St. Luke's.