Dispute at Ebenezer Baptist is now out in the open

A handful of church members protested Sunday morning in front of Ebenezer Baptist Church, decrying the ouster of the historic church’s choir director and demanding the Rev. Raphael Warnock step down as senior pastor.

The six demonstrators held placards reading “Warnock Lies” and “Bring Back Dr. Uzee Brown,” a reference to the recently departed choir director who heads the Department of Music at Morehouse College.

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Brian Feagans/bfeagans@ajc.com

Gloria Bell, a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, is taken away by National Park Service ranger Clark Moore (left) during a demonstration Sunday at the church

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One protester, former choir member Gloria Bell, was handcuffed and taken away by National Park Service rangers in front of the church where she was baptized more than 50 years ago.

Bell, who was wearing a sandwich sign reading “Warnock Must Go!” had refused to leave the sidewalk, saying it was city property. But park ranger Clark Moore told her it was the Park Service’s turf as he removed the sign, cuffed a screaming Bell and forced her into a patrol car. She returned minutes later holding a criminal trespass warning.

Church leaders said Warnock, who preached his first sermon at Ebenezer three years ago, wasn’t available for comment Sunday morning. But shortly after the 11 a.m. service started, a dozen members of the church’s board of deacons walked out of the modern Horizon Sanctuary and across Auburn Avenue to the historic church where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached his message of nonviolence.

Deacon chairman Phillip Finch said the officers and members of the church “stand firm” in support of Warnock. “The current protest by seven members of Ebenezer’s more than 3,000 members clearly does not represent the consensus of the body,” said the 55-year-old Finch, a lifelong member.

Across the street, on a sidewalk outside the national park limits, protestors received a mixed reaction from parishioners leaving the early service. A couple of members honked in support. Most walked by without saying anything. One woman shouted, “What do you want — a perfect pastor?”

The protestors, who included choir president Lydia Walker, insisted that Warnock has shaken up the church staff without regard to the feelings of some longtime members. And they said he has refused to share the church’s finances with them.

Warnock addressed the controversy during the 8 a.m. service, telling worshipers that while they might not understand everything he does, they must trust in his plans for the future. “Any effort to plant the seeds of dissension in the church is by definition a demonic effort,” he said to cheers from the congregation. “I’m glad that the devil has no power here.”