Fight over Fresno Church?

Fresno pastor defies suspension

By Ted Langdell

A Fresno church is still livid about the suspension and removal of its’ senior pastor.

The replacement of David Wainscott at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Aug. 15 didn’t seem to make a difference. Wainscott was preaching Sunday, Aug. 20, in spite of the suspension. He was joined by former Kingsburg UMC pastor Ed Ezaki, who had been scheduled to preach for some time.

Wainscott has continued to pastor the conservative congregation, and preached Aug. 27 and Sept. 3, as well. A vote by the congregation about whether to leave the denomination was expected Aug. 27, but church leaders have put that off, while negotiating with the California-Nevada Annual Conference regarding the church property.

Wainscott’ sudden suspension in Fresno is for violating the denomination's Book of Discipline. “He was appointed to be the pastor of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church,” said Fresno Dist. Supt. Vickie Armour Healy.
“He 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. “The (Book of ) Discipline says ‘No pastor shall arbitrarily organize a pastoral charge,’ in paragraph 332,” she said. A pastoral charge is United Methodist language for a church.

Bishop Melvin Talbert said 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 could not be reached for comment by the Review, despite repeated attempts.

Retired pastor Doug Norris of Merced was appointed to take Wainscott’s position on an interim basis. He accompanied Healy to St. Luke’s and was introduced to staff as Wainscott’s replacement. Through its website, (http://www.stlukesfresno.com), St. Luke's says it "does not recognize" the change in pastors, and deems Norris, "unacceptable".

St. Luke’s leaders responded to the Conference action by changing the locks on the church several days later, and by posting a notice on the church website which said that “Pastor Dave and Ed Ezaki WILL PREACH on Sunday, as scheduled, at St. Luke’s.” Ezaki is the former pastor of Kingsburg UMC, which left the denomination two years ago, and negotiated with the Conference for the purchase of the church buildings. United Methodist Church policy–supported by recent court rulings–says that churches hold the property in trust for the greater church, and that the ownership rests with the denomination through the Conference.

St. Luke’s leaders appeared to be trying an end-run around that policy, by forming a separate, nonprofit corporation, then–as trustees–leasing the church to the nonprofit for 364 days. That’s one day short of a Book of Discipline required review by Conference officials, Healy said.

Attorneys for the conference and St. Luke’s are meeting to discuss the congregation’s desire to leave the denomination and take the property, Talbert told United Methodist News Service.

The church had 649 full members at the start of 1999, and 373 people in average attendance at principal weekly worship services according to the 1999 Conference Journal.

Wainscott has been a United Methodist pastor since 1991. He became an Elder in full connection in 1996, the same year he was appointed to St. Luke’s. It is the largest United Methodist Church in Fresno, followed closely by Wesley UMC, which listed 622 members at the start of 1999 and 323 in attendance at principal weekly worship services.

Wesley’s pastor is one of 68 who participated in a holy union for a lesbian couple in January, 1999.

Wainscott, and others who have left the denomination recently are opposed to holy unions for gay couples, and what they consider “spiritual drift” from biblical teachings within the Conference .