5th Ave United Methodist Church files lawsuit against NC Methodist Conference

Attorney Gavin Parsons filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, June 27th

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The congregation of the 5th Ave United Methodist Church has now filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina United Methodist Conference, which closed the church back in March.

Attorney Gavin Parsons filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, June 27th.

According to the complaint, the 5th Ave church had filed for disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church earlier this year.

Disaffiliation would have allowed the church to leave the Methodist denomination, which dozens of other churches have done throughout the state in recent years.

However, before members of the church could vote on leaving, the state’s Methodist conference closed the church.

Parsons said the goal of the lawsuit is simple.

“They just want to be able to go through the process,” Parsons said. “They’re not asking for, we’re not asking for damages. Typically, lawsuits, there’s some sort of money. They just want to go through the process. And there are some additional claims that they are seeking control to have their church building.”

Parsons said he’s hoping for an injunction to be heard within the next few weeks.

We reached out to the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, but they have not responded.