A dispute between two groups claiming leadership at Resurrection Lutheran Church has escalated beyond a lawsuit to include accusations of theft, assault and other illegal actions — all while the two sides are separately continuing overlapping functions within the church including worship services and a weekly food pantry.
A lengthy statement referring to the church building and bank accounts being ransacked, trash piling up in a classroom due to unpaid collection bills, and bullying of people in minority groups and experiencing homelessness was posted on the homepage of the church’s website Saturday by Karen Lawfer, who asserts she is still the congregation president.
An attorney representing the other group describes a range of “odd and troublesome behavior” by Lawfer and other ousted leaders who are now engaged in a “hostile take-over” by continuing their activities at the church.
“The allegations and narrative advanced by Ms. Lawfer reflect the delusional beliefs of a person who has fallen in love with a belief system disconnected from reality,” attorney Joe Geldhof wrote in an email Tuesday in response to Lawfer’s statement.
Julie Neyhart, a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church for the past 20 years, serves a hot meal to a guest during the church’s weekly food pantry on Tuesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Meanwhile, higher-level officials in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are siding against Lawfer’s group, with actions that include removing Karen Perkins as a pastor from the Alaska Synod Roster of Sept. 21. Perkins said Monday that, aside from presiding over a memorial service as a layperson, she hasn’t been in the pulpit at Resurrection Lutheran Church since and can no longer refer to herself as a pastor in an official role.
“I’m still volunteering for the food pantry and volunteering for some grant stuff, and looking for a job,” Perkins said, noting “on Sundays I’ve been worshiping at different churches around town because worship is still very important to me.”
Leadership of the church is being contested in a lawsuit filed in July by Lisa Brendle, who asserts she is the current congregation president and thus listed the church as the plaintiff. The dispute is essentially about whether Brendle and members acted within the church’s constitution during meetings and votes this spring that resulted in the ouster of Lawfer and Perkins, with the bishop and state synod so far supporting the plaintiff.
Brendle did not respond to messages from the Empire this week seeking a response to Lawfer’s accusations.
A new pastor hasn’t been named to replace Perkins, whose status could be affected by the outcome of the lawsuit, so weekly sermons are being delivered by guest presenters. Other church activities are also continuing — Lawfer said during an interview Monday evening she was on her way to a bible study with other congregation members — but livestreams of worship services watched by a sizeable portion of the congregation have been halted.
Accusations of assault, theft and sabotage
An assault of a 58-year-old man reported to the Juneau Police Department on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 2, alleges a member of Brendle’s group “physically assaulted a disabled Native Alaskan volunteer at RLC,” according to Lawfer’s statement.
“This incident was captured on our security cameras and reported to the Juneau Police Department as part of an ongoing investigation. The subsequent removal of security cameras raises further concerns,” the statement adds. “This incident is part of a broader pattern of discrimination against Alaska Natives, other minority groups, those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, and those experiencing mental health challenges.”
Geldhof did not specifically address the assault and discrimination accusations — or many other specific incidents alleged — but stated repeatedly the claims made by Lawfer and Perkins are fiction.
“Perkins is not quite as manipulative as the fictional cleric Elmer Gantry, but she is manipulative and ultimately fails to adhere to some of the most basic tenants of the Christian tradition, including, most obviously, her willingness to make allegations that violate the admonition not to bear false witness,” he wrote.
An inquiry to JPD by the Empire about specifics of the alleged assault submitted Tuesday afternoon had not received a response as of Wednesday morning.
Helen Troutt, a volunteer at Resurrection Lutheran Church’s weekly food pantry, prepares to make more popcorn on Tuesday afternoon as Andrew Ingram examines food already on the distribution tables. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Both Lawfer and Geldhof describe the situation as being fueled by a small group of dissidents on the opposing side. While many of the accusations are mired in lengthy and nuanced disputes involving the church’s governance and constitution, the more recent claims are largely about illicit actions more suited for criminal rather than civil court.
Brendle’s group has, according to Lawfer, forcibly broken into the church building, removed personal and parish items from Perkins’ office, unplugged essential equipment such as fire alarms, and withdrawn more than $200,000 from the church’s savings account without disclosing where the money is. Lawfer also states bills have gone unpaid, resulting in services such as phone, internet and waste collection being cut off — with some congregation members spending personal funds to restore some of them — and the Southeast Alaska Food Bank threatening to cut off supplies due to unpaid invoices.
Geldhof, responding to the accusation of missing funds, stated they “were placed in an account for safekeeping in order to prevent Perkins and others from spending them improperly.”
“Perkins and her husband have spent funds, including funds stemming from the City and Borough of Juneau in a manner that has raised serious questions about their ability to spend properly,” he wrote. “At this point, Perkins and the faction at the church she claims are in control have refused to cooperate in paying necessary and legitimate bills owed by the church. Perkins and her faction seem bent on acquiring funds in order to pay for what she believes is her mission and ministry.”
Lawfer also published a separate letter, referred to in her website statement, that gets into further details of the governance dispute. Among the assertions is Perkins was unconstitutionally removed as pastor.
“The former Alaska Synod bishop called for an invalid vote using a 51% threshold instead of the required two-thirds majority, without any concerns about misconduct or questions regarding Pastor Perkins’ fitness for ministry,” the letter states.
Multiple other allegations involving votes by a church council Lawfer calls illegitimate and the Alaska Synod are detailed in the letter, and are at the heart of the civil lawsuit still in the pre-trial stages.
Geldhof, in turn, states “Lisa Brendle was properly elected and the legitimate council of the Resurrection Lutheran Church of Juneau decided to utilized a part-time pastor commencing with the end of the call for Perkins.”
“The takeover was reviewed by the Lutheran Bishop of Alaska who determined the acts of Perkins and Karen Lawfer in trying to hang on were wrong,” he wrote. “The Bishop’s findings were concurred in by the Lutheran Synod of Alaska and legal counsel for the entire Lutheran Church of America.”
“This is not a bell that can’t be unrung”
Despite the turmoil, the church hosted its usual food pantry in the basement on Tuesday afternoon, with Lawfer greeting and registering people at the door. More than 200 people picked up groceries — as the church continues to be one of the primary food pantries in Juneau — with many also eating lunch provided at a hot food bar the church added earlier this year.
Volunteers and people picking up food said the pantry remains much the same, but there are some differences as the factional dispute drags on.
“I noticed there’s more of a line in particular, where beforehand it wasn’t a line you had to come up and go through,” said Andrew Ingram, a volunteer for The Salvation Army who says he’s been visiting the food pantry in recent months due to medical and other unexpected bills. “Aside from that, maybe a couple of different faces here and there.”
Ingram added a bit of levity to Tuesday’s food pantry by showing up dressed as a character from the fantasy role-playing game Genshin Impact, while people eating at tables in the church basement talked about a range of everyday topics ranging from last week’s election to hunting. But the leadership dispute also means tension for some people involved in church activities such as the pantry.
“I’m just very sorry about all the conflict,” said Julie Neyhart, a volunteer and member of the church for the past 20 years, who was serving people at a hot meal bar.
Perkins said some of the changes, such as a more limited grocery selection, may be largely due to the communitywide issue of greater demand for food assistance, which she and officials involved with other food distribution efforts say appears to be occurring because of high food costs.
“I think mostly it’s not about the bureaucratic stuff,” she said, referring to the church leadership dispute. “I think there are other issues that are caused by the bureaucratic stuff and the food pantry, but the availability of food I don’t think has to do with this…I mean, even people that I profoundly disagree with on everything else are bringing in food.”
The key questions now for all sides are: How will the dispute be resolved and is there any possibility of doing so in a way that heals the divide between the two groups?
“This is not a bell that can’t be unrung,” Lawfer said. “We would like to work through a resolution with the lawsuit. We would like to work through a resolution with the (Lutheran church) and the bishop and everything. It’s not something that is ‘This is it, it’s all over.’…And I’m not saying that everything that I want could be a part of that. But there can be a resolution.”
But the lawsuit claims the church is suffering a financial crisis due to the management and ministerial approach of Lawfer, Perkins and her husband Bradley. As a result, according to Geldhof, “Karen Perkins and her husband are ruining what has been a vital and long-standing church in Juneau,” and it’s unrealistic to expect a return to how things were when she was pastor.
“If they desire to set up their own church in Juneau or elsewhere, they should give it a go and stop engaging in manipulation and untoward conduct toward the properly elected members of the church congregation and majority members of the congregation who seek spiritual solace without all the needless drama and political hysteria that is emblematic of Perkins and her faction,” he wrote.
Perkins said she’s still contemplating her immediate and longer-term options, whether in Juneau or elsewhere, but in the meantime the people at the church and participating in its programs are the ones who will continue to feel the effects of the dispute.
“The longer it gets stretched out, of course, the easier it is for there to be inertia that has more chance of destroying the possibility for rebuilding,” she said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
