Last Time: The latest Call Meeting continued as Sister Bertha Cooke informed the church members in attendance about Pastor Cyrus Payton’s lack of concern over the church’s youth.
October 29, 2011
Deacon Bill Richards asked if we would listen to him. Dcn. Richards claimed that Pastor Cyrus Payton had talked out of both sides of his mouth to not only the Deacon Board, but also to the congregation. Dcn. Richards reiterated the scheduling changes Pastor Payton made that angered Deacon Dewey Holly, and how Pastor Payton promised to converse with the Deacon Board on all the changes, but didn’t live up to his word.
Dcn. Richards switched subjects to the petition passed around by church members to remove Sister Charlotte Travis as a member many months ago, and how Pastor Payton pushed for the petition, “…because that’s what the people want.”
According to Dcn. Richards, the Deacon Board and several other members listened to the tape from the December 2010 Call Meeting – revealing that we were being secretly taped. The tape replayed how Pastor Payton verbally confronted Sis. Travis by calling her a liar, but not how Sis. Travis told Pastor Payton how he was going to Hell for, according to Sis. Travis, “…playing with God!”
To remind everyone what Sis. Travis did to add to the argument between Pastor Payton was Sister Hope Boykins.
Sis. Boykins reasonably called Sis Travis’ words as, “…disrespectful.”
Instead of agreeing with Sis. Boykins’ viewpoint about the way Sis. Travis spoke to Pastor Payton, Dcn. Richards explained the Sis. Boykins didn’t see the truth in Pastor Payton’s actions.
Getting agitated, Sis. Boykins walked out of the room as Deacon Dewey Holly stood up to tell us how, “…those are the type of situations we don’t wanna get into.”
Sis. Boykins immediately reentered the room, asking Dcn. Holly to address her when she’s in the room, not when she leaves. A big commotion ensued that saw Sis. Boykins be escorted out of the room by her mother, brother, Sister Valentine Moore, Sister Gloria Henderson, Brother Amos Macklin, and myself. During their calming of Sis. Boykins emotions, the remaining individuals in the dining room had a prayer moment led by Dcn. Holly. This prayer lasted a good five minutes.
When order was restored and the prayer concluded, Sister Rebecca Stevenson asked how today’s resolution would help unify the church prior to wondering how the deacons would work with the next pastor if there is a voting out of Pastor Payton in the near future. To emphasize how much Pastor Payton meant well, Sis. Stevenson noted how many people have come to God since his arrival at the church.
Sister Ester Harris retorted, “God saved those souls, not him.”
Sister Deborah Holly stated her noticing of the congregation’s separation when Pastor Payton started using, “…false teachings,” during the Sunday School service.
Brother Herbert Jacobs, being a man of silence rather than run his mouth and get tongue tied, admitted the he had kept his mouth shut during most of these meetings. But today, Bro. Jacobs expressed his concern in regards to the church body. Seemingly being a fellow man of silence, Bro. Jacobs wanted to know why Pastor Payton wouldn’t speak up to defend himself. Bro. Jacobs capped off his statement by asking what Pastor Payton’s plan for the church was following this meeting.
Instead of hearing from Pastor Payton, Trustee Sinclair Millard stood up to speak on Pastor Payton’s lack of love for everyone. To make his point clear, Tr. Millard told us the same story from the last Call Meeting about Pastor Payton not coming to visit his sick sister in the hospital. Tr. Millard concluded his story by saying that the Trustee Board was trying to bring the church together.
