Over the years, Abyssinian has hosted governors, senators, and presidential candidates, while playing a prominent role in the nation’s civil rights movement.
Fresh off of the selection of a new senior pastor, Harlem ’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church is facing a deep divide. A dozen members of the influential Black congregation tell the I-Team they represent dozens more who believe the new pastor was chosen in a flawed process, set up to unfairly favor one candidate.
According to a record of the vote provided by critics of the process, fewer than half of Abyssinian church members voted in the June election. In an up or down vote, Rev. Johnson received 672 yes votes – 55.6% of the people who cast ballots. But that amounted to just 25.3% of the 2,655 church members who were eligible to vote.“You need a super majority, a majority of all the members in good standing versus the majority of people who vote,” McFarlane-White said.
She also organized Zoom interviews with supporters of Rev. Johnson, who believe the election of a new pastor only required a majority of those members who actually cast ballots. “I respect him. He’s an incredible church leader, church builder,” said Lamonda Williams, an Abyssinian trustee. “He’s a man of God that I completely respect and I couldn’t be more enamored that he is in the pulpit to succeed my beloved Reverand Butts.”
According to the church bylaws, the selection committee tasked with filling a pastor vacancy “shall be appointed by the Diaconate at a duly called Church Meeting, and such shall be representative of the Church Members in Good Standing.” “The February 2023 church meeting allowed the formal increase of the number of Pastoral Search Committee members,” Evans wrote in an email to the I-Team.
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