Harlem's historic Abyssinian Baptist Church faces new lawsuit from 4 members over pastoral selection process
NEW YORK — Controversy continues over the recent appointment of a new senior pastor at Harlem's historic Abyssinian Baptist Church.
The search had been ongoing since the late Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts III died two years ago. A new lawsuit filed Friday by four members of the congregation, including a deacon who initially served on the search committee, has prompted a response from the church.
An email sent to the members by Rev. Dr. Kevin Johnson led with an appeal against division with a quote from the Bible's first book of Corinthians, then called the lawsuit "baseless."
"It really just boils down to not accepting the results of the election. That's it, point blank," Johnson said Sunday from the pulpit, responding to the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs outline alleged church bylaw violations
The plaintiffs outline what they see as several violations of the church bylaws leading up to Johnson's leadership announcement, including a biased, too-big search committee that Butts convened before his death in 2022.
"It's supposed to be widely representative," said Dr. Kevin McGruder, a history professor and one of the plaintiffs. "It was mainly deacons and trustees who are the officers of the church. So they were both officers, and they were in the search committee."
Despite the church offering votes by mail, online or in-person, the lawsuit alleges an inadequate electorate participated in July, with fewer than half of the church members giving their choice.
Jasmine McFarlane-White said she spoke up when the church announced plans in advance to calculate the results based on the votes received, rather than a majority of eligible members.
"We stand firm in our position, because I do think the bylaws speak for themselves," McFarlane-White said. "But there were many attempts to try to rectify the situation before the election even took place."
The lawsuit also says members were supposed to vote on the new pastor's compensation package, which never happened.
McGruder wrote a book chronicling the first 200 years of the congregation.
"I know we can do better than we're doing now," McGruder said. "And we have to, if we want to have a tricentennial history book about Abyssinian."
The lawsuit demands the decision to appoint Johnson be rendered null and void, a new search committee formed to start from scratch.
Abyssinian Baptist Church stands by Rev. Dr. Kevin Johnson
In a statement, a spokesperson responded: "Abyssinian Baptist Church stands behind the ethical, legal and valid election of its new Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Kevin R. Johnson. We will continue to defend the church, legacy and pastoral selection process from baseless attacks by a disgruntled few who simply refuse to accept the results of a fair election."
Johnson sat down exclusively with CBS News New York anchor Maurice DuBois after his appointment, and responded to the initial concerns over the process. Another lawsuit had already been filed, claiming gender discrimination from a different candidate.
"Everything that they did was done the way it should be done, according to the church's bylaws," Johnson said to DuBois. "And I support what they did because it's helping to move the church forward. And my prayer is for those who are on the outside, come on back home, because we want you to be a part of Abyssinian again."
A town hall being held at Abyssinian on Wednesday night is for members who are considered in good standing only and is closed to the public, but Johnson said lawyers will offer their insight into the selection process, and the group will discuss how to defend the church against what he calls "false allegations."
A spokesperson for Abyssinian explained that members were encouraged for months to update their contact information ahead of the vote. The church used an independent, third-party vendor to process and certify the votes, and "elections are decided by those who actually vote."
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