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Greater New York Conference - Update May 2
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Conference President accused of professional misconduct by member who asks for permission to attend his church You can help - With your prayers |
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On April 10th we announced that a member was blocked from entering his church and the police were called to arrest him if he tried to attend the worship service. This member has been complaining to the conference about no business meeting for over 30 months and no elections for over four years. Read the April 10th Update
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The member appealed to the President of the Greater New York Conference because state laws concerning trespassing gives the right to bar and arrest trespassers to the owner of the property, the Conference owns the building not the church board. Therefore, the Conference President is in the position to give permission to this member to be on the property and the police will ignore the church board request.
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| On April 12th the President of the Greater New York Conference rejected the member's request for permission to attend his church activities and would not comment about the actions by the pastor and the church board, | |
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"Removing an individual from membership in the church, the body of Christ, is always a serious matter; it is the ultimate in the discipline that the church can administer; it is the extreme measure that can be meted out by the church. Only after the instruction given in this chapter has been followed, and after all possible efforts have been made to win and restore him/her to right paths should this kind of discipline be used. It would be advisable to secure counsel from the pastor of the church or, if he is not available, from the conference/mission/field president before any action is taken by the church, when such a step is contemplated.”
Church Manual, page 194 (17th edition) |
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The church board is NOT following the church manual in dealing with this member and the conference president will not correct their mistake. The member appealed this decision to the President of the Atlantic Union Conference and after two weeks of calls and messages the Union still did not respond. (Read Appeal to Union)
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| In these two weeks the member also asked the North American Division and the General Conference for suggestions how to proceed without making accusations of professional misconduct by the conference president. None of the church leaders could suggest another path other than Working Policy L-60 section 15. |
| On April 27th letters were mailed to 22 members of the Executive Committee accusing G. Earl Knight of professional misconduct in accordance with this working policy. |
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This seems to be the only option available to correct errors that have been made . . .
The member was accused of questionable behavior but instead of the offended member(s) following Matthew 18, they went to the church board who decided to go to the police and ask that they arrest him for trespassing if he attempts to attend the church. This is the most serious violation of the church manual I have ever heard of - - - - and the administration of this website supports any member’s right to defend himself and in the proper venue (which is at a business meeting of the congregation). The Conference President should know that the pastor and church board have made a mistake (proper procedure is clear in the church manual) and it is in his power to correct this mistake, but has decided not to correct it. However - he did take an important step toward preventing further violations of the church manual and to move in the direction to restore order at this church . . . |
| On April 30th the church learned that the pastor has been assigned to another church and the name of their new pastor. You may remember that on Feb. 22nd the Conference Administration met with a VP of the General Conference and members of the grievance committee and decided that business meetings and elections should be held at this church. See details The concerned members assume that the new pastor will comply with the decision of the conference administration and call a business meeting and start the election process as soon as he can. |
| Please pray for this situation which has not yet been resolved |
| The working policy says this is "a matter of general denominational concern" - so it is proper for any concerned Seventh-day Adventist to express their concern If you are impressed by the Holy Spirit to do something Contact G. Earl Knight, President of Greater New York Conference to give permission for the member to attend his church until the church investigates the charges against the member at a business meeting Contact Don King, President of the Atlantic Union Conference that he provide guidance and direction to the Executive Committee who have been asked to do what the Conference President will not do |
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Here are the e-mail addresses for
G. Earl Knight [email protected]
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Related pages:
Update: April 10 Member barred from church, police called Update: April 2 Pastor Defies Local Conference decision Update: Feb. 22 Meeting at Conference Office - Pastor agrees to resolution Feb. 9 When did GNYC ask Pastor to call meeting and elections Appeal to Union Conference April 19 Appeal to President of Atlantic Union Conference North American Division - Decision by President, Dan Jackson - Dec. 28th - Revised decision by Dan Jackson - Jan .26 Working Policy L-60 Section 10 Working Policy L-60 Section 15 |
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Please pray that The Holy Spirt will convict the church leaders that action is needed. There is power in united prayer |
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