A communitywide prayer service for troubled Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church will be held Sunday virtually and in person at the east Cobb church.
The church has been the center of a battle with officials at the governing body of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church over who should lead the church, one of the largest congregations in the conference.
The 90-minute prayer event, which begins at 6 p.m., will be hosted by the Rev. Jody Ray and the church and led by 18 leaders from Christian communities in the Marietta region and around the world, “as they navigate the challenging circumstances facing their church community,” according to a press release about the event.
“As like-minded friends in our community, across the U.S. and around the world have watched events unfolding here, they have reached out to us in support, recognizing the hurt and turmoil in the hearts of the people of Mt. Bethel,” Johnna Bain, a spokesperson for Mt. Bethel, said in a statement. “In response, our local and global friends are joining us in solidarity for a community event to pray for Mt. Bethel and other churches around the world standing faithfully with us and on God’s Word.”
In April, Ray, who has served as senior pastor of the east Cobb congregation for about five years, surrendered his credentials and said the church was taking steps to leave the denomination.
At issue was the planned reassignment of Ray, who was to be appointed to a new assignment on the conference staff related to racial reconciliation. Earlier this month, the Rev. Brian Tillman was named the first director of Inclusion and Advocacy for the conference.
Recently, the conference announced it planned to seize the assets of Mt. Bethel, which is at 4385 Lower Roswell Road, citing “exigent circumstances” and said it was “acting out of love for the church and its mission” and to “preserve the legacy of the Mt. Bethel church and its longstanding history of mission and ministry.”
The exigent circumstances have been refuted in a complaint filed against the Bishop that is presently under review by a higher authority within the Southeastern Jurisdiction College of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, according to a spokeswoman.
At Sunday’s event, each program participant will focus on a particular aspect of “heavenly minded hope” as an assurance of things “unseen providing strength, courage and boldness for the future.”
In-person and online participants will receive an opportunity to text and receive more prayer with Mt. Bethel after the event.
The in-person event in the church sanctuary will also be carried live on four streaming platforms: live.mtbethel.org, online.mtbethel.org, Mt. Bethel Church Facebook Live, and Mt. Bethel North Facebook Live.
Mt. Bethel’s membership has been reported to be around 8,000. It has served the community for more than 175 years.
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