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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
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April 2005 |
Church trial of Jeffersonville pastor set for May 19
Bishop Pennel selected as trial judge
By Daniel R. Gangler
INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Area Bishop Michael J. Coyner announced in mid-March that the clergy trial of the Rev. Larry Martin of Jeffersonville, Ind., has been set for May 19 to 21. The trial is scheduled to be held at Trinity United Methodist Church in New Albany, Ind.
Coyner named retired United Methodist Bishop Joe E. Pennel Jr. of Franklin, Tenn. as the bishop to judge the trial of Martin, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Jeffersonville. Pennel previously served as bishop of the Richmond (Va.) Area of the church. Prior to his election to the episcopacy in 1996, he served as a pastor in the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences of the church.
Charged
The Rev. Michael Biggs, superintendent of the South Indiana Conference's New Albany District, announced March 6 to the Wesley United Methodist Church in Jeffersonville that their pastor, the Rev. Larry Martin, had been suspended because he had been charged with immorality and sexual harassment. Both are chargeable offenses for ordained ministers according to the Book of Discipline in The United Methodist Church.
The Rev. Charles Hutchinson, a retired minister of the South Indiana Conference living in Franklin, currently serves as interim pastor of Wesley Church.
According to the South Indiana Conference Journal, Martin was ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Louisiana Conference in 1991. He served churches in Louisiana before transferring to the South Indiana Conference in October 1997. At that time, he was appointed to serve Wesley United Methodist Church in Jeffersonville.
Clergy trial
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In all these proceedings, there is always a presumption of innocence unless or until a United Methodist clergyperson is found guilty by a jury of peers. |
The South Indiana Conference Cabinet of nine District Superintendents are in the process of choosing 35 ordained ministers of the conference to serve as a jury pool for the clergy trial. At the time of the trial, 13 clergy from this pool will be selected to hear the case against the respondent, the Rev. Larry Martin. Special consideration is given to ensure that the pool is diverse in terms of race, ethnicity and gender. In all these proceedings, there is always a presumption of innocence unless or until a United Methodist clergyperson is found guilty by a jury of peers.
In a United Methodist church trial, an individual responds to a charge or charges of having violated denominational law, as set forth in the church's Book of Discipline. A trial is described as a "last resort" in the Book of Discipline. When a complaint is filed against someone, the matter is first addressed in a supervisory process and usually resolved. If resolution doesn't occur, the complaint may be forwarded to the conference committee on investigation, which conducts hearings and decides whether grounds exist for converting the complaint to a charge for trial.
A jury or "trial court" of 13 clergy members from the respondent's annual conference - the South Indiana Conference - will hear the case. Nine votes are necessary to convict. If convicted, the respondent, if present at the trial, has 30 days to appeal the conviction giving written grounds of the appeal.
According to the Book of Discipline, the deliberations of the trial court (such as the selection of the jury) shall be closed. Other parts of the trial also will be closed, unless the respondent requests an open trial in writing to the presiding bishop by counsel. Then, parts of the trial will be open.
Sexual harassment policies
Writing and implementing policies on clergy sexual harassment have coincided with the growing awareness of these problems in society. The United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women has said, "Sexual harassment according to The United Methodist Church is a sin." This kind of harassment is described as "a continuum of behaviors that intimidate, demean, humiliate or coerce," as noted in the church's resolution "Sexual Abuse Within Ministerial Relationships," revised and readopted in 2004 for the Book of Resolutions. In 1992 the church adopted a resolution calling for the "Eradication of Sexual Harassment in The United Methodist Church and Society." The resolution was revised and adopted in 2000 and appears in the 2004 Book of Resolutions.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008