Manhattan Church Elder Sues Pastor for $1 Million for Using 'Four Letter Words' in Sermons
An elder at the historic Church of the Covenant in Manhattan has filed a $1 million lawsuit against its interim pastor, saying he has offended church members by "using four letter words in the pulpit," not doing his duties and removing a "God is Love" sign from the sanctuary, allegations that the pastor denies.
Gregory Reid, treasurer at the 165-year-old church, has filed the lawsuit against Pastor Cornell Edmonds in Manhattan Supreme Court, seeking to permanently remove him from the pulpit, according to the New York Post.
Both Reid and Edmonds are attorneys.
"I have absolutely nothing to hide. There is nothing nefarious," Edmonds, who was hired as an interim pastor last January, was quoted as saying. The 58-year-old pastor replaced a series of temporary pastors who had led services in the church for the past 10 years.
Reid's lawsuit says the pastor "rarely made pastoral visits to dying, elderly, sick" and offended parishioners with unorthodox sermons that were laced with "four letter words" and stories about drug dealers and killers whom he represented in court, according to New York Daily News.
It adds that Edmonds has got the words "God is Love" removed from the sanctuary saying it is "distracting" while at the same time inviting people to worship who are "psychologically and socially challenged."
The court papers go on to say that the pastor's behavior has caused the church's deficit to increase from an anticipated amount of $7,629 to $70,000, mainly because the New York Opera Exchange, whose performances generated thousands of dollars in revenue for the church, no longer wants to use the church premises.
The lawsuit also claims that the pastor's earlier tenure with the Presbytery NYC was controversial and involved litigation and contention, which Edmonds denies.
The head of the Presbytery was quoted as saying that the lawsuit "has nothing to do with the interim pastor's previous employment."
The Covenant church was severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy. The renovation cost nearly $1 million, funded entirely by insurance.
