Tensions have been running so high at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Akron that Sunday services were canceled for fear violence might erupt.
At 10:45 a.m., when the adult service would normally begin, not a single car was in the rain-drenched parking lot.
But a few minutes later, a lone car drove in. Then another. And another.
Within 20 minutes, about 40 people had shown up for an impromptu service held on a covered outdoor patio, led by a pastor who had been fired six days earlier and was locked out of the building.
You can’t tell the angry people without a scorecard. So here goes.
• Senior Pastor Luther C. Cooper, fired on Monday. Returned to the church Tuesday, attempting to get in, and allegedly used a locksmith to gain entry on Friday.
• Lamont Wilson, former chairman of the trustee board, the defendant in a lawsuit filed by Cooper and by …
• Robert Shoates, chairman of the deacon board, who obviously backs Cooper.
• Larry and Effie Stewart, members of the congregation who have been particularly outspoken in their opposition to Cooper.
• The Akron Police Department, whose officers have been summoned to the church at various times by both sides, most recently on Friday, after Cooper’s entry set off the burglar alarm. Police reportedly have told both sides the conflict is a civil matter.
Accusations have been flying for almost two years, and a congregation that numbered 400 has dwindled to about 80.
Mount Zion’s church is a handsome, one-story structure northwest of St. Thomas Hospital on Cuyahoga Street. On Sunday, Cooper led a soggy group of loyalists through about half an hour of preaching, praying and singing.
A fixture at Mount Zion since 1975, Cooper vowed to regain control of the church.
His opponents accuse him of misappropriating funds, namely the purchase of a personal car with church money, hiring an expensive accounting firm for an audit without proper approval and hiring high-priced lawyer Ed Gilbert to go after his opponents.
Cooper’s side says Wilson, the former trustee board chairman, failed to pay Cooper and other church employees and flatly refused to surrender the documents needed to complete the aforementioned audit — and filed a lawsuit to that effect last summer.
Gilbert is no longer involved in that case — he says it was turned over to the church’s insurance company — but he is representing Mount Zion on other matters and has had a ringside seat.
On Friday, Gilbert attributed most of the turmoil to “personality conflicts.”
He says the charge that Cooper hired him without proper approval is “not the case. When I was hired, the church leaders retained me because … bills weren’t being paid, checks were being bounced.”
Court will decide
A court injunction took the books out of Wilson’s hands and gave them to two other members. But things won’t be fully resolved until a jury trial scheduled for September.
Gilbert says the situation is “really sad. Nobody is winning on this.”
That’s for sure. The conflict has been heartbreaking for the entire congregation.
Among those suffering is former deaconess Effie Stewart, who believes her longtime pastor lost his way.
“The church was our refuge back in the days when we could run and hide and do whatever we do as African-Americans,” she said last week. “But right now, it’s almost like, ‘What’s the difference between in and out, out there in the world and in the church?’ ”
Before launching Sunday’s outdoor service, Cooper grudgingly agreed to talk to the Beacon Journal. He called the problem “a power play” and said the vote to expel him was improperly taken.
When asked whether he viewed this as a personality conflict, he replied, “It’s more than that. It’s about refusing to acquiesce and cooperate with the pastor and the deacon ministry when we asked them to turn the books over.”
Cooper (who serves on the board for Summit County Children Services) vowed to stick it out. “As the shepherd, I’m not going to walk away under this cloud of distortion and lies because of jealousy and power control.”
He said he is confident he can work out a reconciliation.
“This it not a fighting ground,” he said, standing on the chilly porch. “It’s a loving ground. A healing ground. …
“The outcome is going to be positive, because this is the Lord’s house with the Lord’s people.”
Came to console
The first person to arrive Sunday was Linda Wilson, who didn’t expect a service. She came “just in case there’s somebody here who didn’t know [about the cancellation] and needed a prayer, and I would pray for them, and for the church.”
As she sat in her car in a driving rain, trying unsuccessfully to fight back tears, she said, “I never thought I’d live in America and couldn’t go to church. …
“This isn’t about a dispute between trustees and a pastor. We are the membership of the church and we have the right to go in, even if there’s nobody here.”
Right on cue, up drove the person who chaired a committee that decided to cancel services.
Jim Portis said the move was made because “we thought it would be best so nobody would get hurt or there wouldn’t be a scuffle or anything. …
“We’ll have a cool-off for the day, then next Sunday we’ll be open for business if we get things straightened out.”
That may be easier said than done.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31