CHURCH MEMBERS LOCKED OUT

Leaders cut chained gate to conduct Sunday service

By Carnell Hawthorne Jr., Reporter

A dispute over access to a landlocked church will likely be settled in court, says Pastor Willie Lee of Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist in Live Oak.

Lee and his congregation were unable to hold Sunday service on Oct. 4 because a fence had been erected blocking the entrance to their sanctuary. Last Sunday, authorities were called to the location at 904 NW Roberts St., as churchgoers waited outside the gate to enter. Eventually the lock was cut and parishioners filtered inside.

"We've been barred from our church," said member Valerie Thompkins over the phone. "We have no place to go and worship God."

The church sits on a tract of land behind property owned by William Gibbons of Miami. Gibbons said for two years he asked the church leader to move trees and bushes that had been cut down and placed on his property.

"They pushed it up behind my house there," Gibbons said by phone.

Snakes and rodents we beginning to gather in the piled timber, Gibbons said, so he paid to have the debris moved.

"He (Lee) was supposed to send me $300 for having all the trees moved," Gibbons said. "I never received the money, although they said they sent it."

Then Gibbons said, he rented the house at the front of the property to new tenants.

That's when Gibbons said he began to receive complaints from his tenants concerning the church.

"I tried to work with (the pastor)," Gibbons said. "I told him he could drive through there, but when he started messing with those kids, I said that was enough. When he started calling names, I knew I had to take some action."

Gibbons said he had his land surveyed. The driveway leading to the church lay within his property, so he decided to put up a fence.

"There was a bunch of mess going on there, so I put a fence up there to break up all that mess."

That was nearly four weeks ago, Gibbons said.

On Sunday, Lee, who lives in Lake Park, Ga., and members of his congregation arrived at the gate intending to conduct services at the church. Authorities were called, and Lee said he presented a letter signed by the previous property owner granting permission to use the driveway.

"We had the document from the courthouse saying that we have the right-of-way to go in there," Lee said.

"We cut the chain and went on in to hold service," said Lee Monday. "The judge said let them go on and take you to court. We hate to take it this far, but we don't have a choice because we have the right-of-way."

A copy of that letter could not be obtained by the Democrat. It is not clear to what judge he was referring.

Lee said the church has sat in its current location for longer than most folks can remember. He has been pastor there for five years.

The legalities of the dispute are sketchy.

Lee says the congregation's continued use of the lane means it can't now be closed off. It's not clear, however, how long parishioners have been using this entrance to the church.

Gibbons said he hasn't contacted the local courts, but has made it his intention. His wife, Allie Gibbons, said she has been looking for a lawyer.

"I can't keep running up there. We've been up there three times, once in June, August and October. My husband is not well, he recently had a heart attack," Allie Gibbons said.

William Gibbons said his only concern is that everyone in the situation gets along.

"That's all we're worried about," he said. "We'll be driving back up to Live Oak in about three weeks."

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