Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 6-20-17

Feature
Church Votes To Oust Pastor Amid Allegations
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Sunday, members of New Salem Missionary Bap- tist Church voted to fire their pastor. Rev. Dr. Henry Lyons had led the congregation since 2003.
According to sources, on Sunday, the congregation voted Dr. Lyons out as its pastor by a majority vote.
During a telephone in- terview with Dr. Lyons on Friday, he confirmed the rumor that some of the dea- cons and trustees had voted to fire him.
“Thursday was the 4th meeting we had. During the first two, they were after my wife and then they started on me.
“It was like an ambush. There were ten people who kept pushing for a vote, but they are the recommending body, not the entire church. It was real hot and it got nasty enough.”
Dr. Lyons further stated that after retired po- lice officer Susan Bowers joined their church the problems started. “Since she has become a member, we’ve been going through
hell. She said she’s been doing a forensic examina- tion of my finances and Sis- ter Lyons’ finances.”
He further said that when the retired police offi- cer came, she was Deacon Rufus Spencer’s “birth- day present.”
The controversy stems from the grant money that was reportedly obtained for HIV grants and for the op- eration of the daycare cen- ter. The center was operated by Mrs. Willie B. Lyons independently of the church.
Also on Friday, the Tem- ple Terrace Police Depart- ment was called to the facility. Dr. and Mrs. Lyons were escorted off the property.
One of the church lead- ers who did not wish to be identified said, “This did not start with Mrs. Bowers. It started when we wanted to become more efficient. We decided to hire an organiza- tion called Start Church out of Atlanta. They said they would be able to keep our records and handle all of our paperwork because we wanted to be transparent and prevent any future
REV. DR. HENRY LYONS ... Fired from New Salem M. B. Church
problems. And, in the be- ginning, Dr. Lyons was on board with it.”
He stated that the prob- lems began when Start Church did a computer check and discovered the day care facility had re- ceived several grants since 2009. “We were not aware of the grants and I asked the same two questions every time (1) Why wasn’t the church notified and (2) where was the money de- posited? And they would not (the Lyons) cooperate with us.
“We have Mrs. Bowers and two other professionals in the church s0 we went to them as a board and asked
them to look into the issue with the grants,” he said.
“Why would we go out- side when we have profes- sionals in the church who can do the same thing?”
He said Dr. Lyons, who was an employee of the church was terminated for misappropriation of funds.
He further stated that so far they have discovered in access of $200,000. He said the school should have re- ported the money to the church.
A member of the church who did not want to be iden- tified stated that the Rev. James Martin conducted the services on Sunday. The church had a meeting fol- lowing the service in which votes were cast to decide if Dr. Lyons would remain as the leader or be forced out.
According to the mem- ber, 52 people voted against him and 32 voted in his favor. However, some mem- bers were not present and others elected to abstain from voting.
The member said neither Dr. Lyons nor his wife were in church on Sunday.
“They are not allowed on the property. They (church
members) have changed the locks and everything. They are going to have to let them know where to send their things,” the member said.
For many years, Dr. Lyons was the spiritual leader of Bethel Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, and Pres- ident of the National Baptist Convention.
However, in July 1997, his life took a downward spiral after his then wife, Mrs. Deborah Lyons, set fire to a home owned by Rev. Lyons and another woman, the late Bernice Edwards.
Dr. Lyons was arrested and pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges. He served a prison sentence beginning on April 1, 1999 until No- vember 30, 2003.
After his release from prison, Dr. Lyons became the Servant/Teacher at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church.
A spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office, Mid- dle District of Florida said he could not confirm or deny if an investigation was ongoing that involved Dr. Lyons.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017