This story has been updated with additional information, and to correct specifics of the church council’s meetings in March and May, and a statement by Karen Perkins about the bishop’s authority in the matter.
A lawsuit listing Resurrection Lutheran Church as the plaintiff has been filed against three church leaders, alleging the roles of pastor and congregation president are being performed by people recently ousted, in a battle involving the ministerial role of a church prominent for its programs and advocacy on behalf of the homeless and other disadvantaged persons.
The Rev. Karen Perkins, her husband Bradley who helps operate various programs, and Karen Lawfer are defendants in the lawsuit filed in the church’s name by Lisa Brendle, who states she — not Lawfer — is legally the congregation’s president following a March 7 election by the church council. The lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Juneau also alleges Perkins was dismissed during a subsequent meeting as the church’s pastor as of July 1, yet the defendants are continuing in the roles they had.
The defendants say there were irregularities in the March election that violated the church’s constitution and Lawfer remained in her official position, which was announced at a subsequent church council meeting May 16. The lawsuit by Brendle asserts there was “an illegitimate election undertaken by a rump group of the RLC Council” during a meeting “on or about” that date, which Karen Perkins denies.
[Lawsuit filed by RLC | Response letter by Karen Perkins and Karen Lawfer]
The lawsuit follows a bitter fight last year about whether the church should continue hosting a cold-weather emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness — where funding, damage to church property and impacts on the surrounding neighborhood were debated. The church also operates a weekly food pantry that serves nearly 300 people weekly, one of the biggest in Juneau.
But one thing the parties involved in the lawsuit agree on is it’s a dispute that has escalated over more than just the past few months.
Another thing they agree on is the courtroom is a terrible place to resolve the dispute — which is having harmful effects on the church and congregation members — but there seems to be no practical alternative at this point.
“This lawsuit is brought to determine who has authority to conduct the organizational needs and financial affairs of the RLC and to prevent waste of church assets and provide for an accounting of funds raised for the ministerial work of the church,” an introductory summary paragraph of the lawsuit states.
No hearing dates for the lawsuit were set as of Tuesday morning, according to the Alaska State Court system online database.
Timothy Oslovich (left), bishop of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Pastor Karen Perkins greet visiting singers with Mariner Girl Scout Ship 361 from Illinois before Sunday’s service at Resurrection Lutheran Church. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Jeffery Troutt, an attorney representing the defendants, said during an interview Saturday the real issue for the people filing the lawsuit appears to be about decisons involving the church’s high-profile activities and advocacy in recent years on behalf of the homeless and other disadvantaged persons.
“That leadership dispute has everything to do with what the vision of the church is and what it’s going to do,” he said.
“Do we really want a court deciding what Jesus feels about gay marriage, what Jesus feels about transsexuals, what Jesus feels about feeding the homeless, whether or not Jesus wants to herd them all into an impersonal warming shelter? Those are the kinds of things that this dispute is over.”
That claim was rebuffed by Brendle in an interview Sunday. She said among her foremost concerns is the church is suffering a financial crisis, which is having a range of adverse impacts, and “some questionable accounting issues” have occurred under the leadership of Lawfer and the Perkins couple.
“That lawsuit you see is about determining authority and protection of the assets of the church is what my goal is at this time,” Brendle said. “It is not about not helping people, because there are a lot of people who have been part of that congregation that are very generous giving to continue mission work. But we have had a problem with finances for many years.”
Both sides agree the COVID-19 pandemic took a damaging toll on the church, including the loss of some members who died from the illness. But Bradley Perkins said “the church became tremendously active” with its online/TV studio facilities and activities during the pandemic, which continue to be featured activities offered for youths and others both behind and in front of the cameras. Karen Perkins said the church’s food pantry also expanded significantly during that time and it hosted the cold-weather shelter for two years.
“We started doing outreach to people who were (especially vulnerable) and people who were living on the streets,” she said.
Karen Perkins said she believes some congregation members are being misled about the state of the church’s finances and how they’re being affected by ongoing programs.
“I do believe that there are a lot of people that aren’t against the programs and have no agenda about closing the church,” she said. “They’ve been sold the idea that the way to save the church is to stop spending the money, which of course anybody who studies these things will tell you that just means you die slowly.”
Who’s the pastor and who’s the congregation president?
A service at the church on Sunday morning was led by Karen Perkins, who is still listed as the pastor at the church’s website — yet she said Saturday she hasn’t been paid since her alleged July dismissal after nearly seven years at the church.
Karen Lawfer appeared during the service to deliver the children’s message, while Bradley Perkins performed his usual duties such as supervising the livestream and setting up the post-service brunch in the reception hall.
Meanwhile Brendle, who was not at Sunday’s service, was able to file the lawsuit in the church’s name — yet despite her stated role as congregation president doesn’t have access to the church’s website or other key resources because she says she’s being denied access necessities such as passwords.
That stalemate is lingering as a result of the two church council meetings this spring with different outcomes. The church council, which can have up to 13 people, has been subjected to accusations by both sides of questionable actions affecting votes such as illegitimate members and intimidation.
An initial 7-6 vote that named Brendle and other people as church officers, for instance, saw one vote changed the following day, Lawfer said. She said she talked to people who said they were pressured to switch their allegiance and, after obtaining statements from them to that effect, held the subsequent council meeting where her role as congregation president was reaffirmed.
Brendle said the outcome of the March meeting wasn’t challenged and council officials, including Lawfer, unanimously approved the official minutes during a subsequent meeting in April. Karen Perkins said irregularities in the March vote were discovered after the April meeting, resulting in a subquent meeting where revised minutes retaining Lawfer as president were approved.
The dismissal of Karen Perkins, Brendle said, occurred as the result of a June 9 meeting where the congregation voted in favor of a part-time pastor, then voted against offering that position to Perkins.
According to the lawsuit, higher confirmation of the actions by the council in March was provided by Shelley Wickstrom, the bishop of the Alaska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America until she retired June 30.
“Bishop Wickstrom had numerous communications with Karen Lawfer and Karen Perkins during May 2024, about the propriety of Brendle’s election as President of RLC,” the lawsuit states. “On information and belief, Bishop Wickstrom repeatedly advised Karen Perkins and Karen Lawfer that Brendle was the President of RLC.”
Karen Perkins said the bishop didn’t following the church’s constitution regarding the election of officers as well as the process for holding a vote on removing her as pastor.
“I don’t report to the bishop and we’re required to abide by the (church’s) constitution,” she said, adding “while the bishop is above me in the sense of structural leadership, the bishop is not my boss.”
Replacing Wickstrom as bishop as of July 1 is Timothy Oslovich, who was at Resurrection Luther Church and administered communion during a service on Sunday. The bishop did not respond to inquires by the Empire on Monday about the dispute at the church and his office’s authority in it, but Brendle said the bishop is addressing the matter during his visit.
She said the bishop can issue rulings in matters and, after Wickstrom initiated a review process last year and issued a subsequent judgement, “the next part was to have a mediator to help work with us.” However, with those efforts failing to resolve the issue it became necessary to file the lawsuit.
“It’s very emotional for many long-term members,” Brendle said. “And there are folks who want to be able to participate in more activities, be in church more, but there’s a discomfort here. And bringing the lawsuit didn’t help. But it needed to be done.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com.
