Post by Logan on Feb 12, 2016 4:57:17 GMT -6
Orlando Baptist pastor resigns after former member sues church
The senior pastor of a roughly 2,500-person congregation in Orlando stepped down Sunday amid a lawsuit alleging that he and other church elders offered a woman money to conceal her extramarital affair with the clergyman.
Pastor David Janney's exit from ministry at Orlando Baptist Church was not an admission that the accusations are true, a church elder stated. However, Janney, 61, "felt his resignation was in the best interest of the Church," deacon Ray Elliott wrote in an email.
Arlene Miranda, the former church member who filed the lawsuit, claims that Orlando Baptist officials used coercion and the promise of a payout to cover up her sexual encounter with the married pastor.
At a Dec. 2 meeting, church leaders convinced Miranda to sign a non-disclosure agreement that offered her weekly payments of $375 across several months if she held her tongue about Janney and Orlando Baptist, according to her suit.
Read more: www.orlandosentinel.com/features/religion/os-orlando-baptist-pastor-steps-down-20160210-story.html
The senior pastor of a roughly 2,500-person congregation in Orlando stepped down Sunday amid a lawsuit alleging that he and other church elders offered a woman money to conceal her extramarital affair with the clergyman.
Pastor David Janney's exit from ministry at Orlando Baptist Church was not an admission that the accusations are true, a church elder stated. However, Janney, 61, "felt his resignation was in the best interest of the Church," deacon Ray Elliott wrote in an email.
Arlene Miranda, the former church member who filed the lawsuit, claims that Orlando Baptist officials used coercion and the promise of a payout to cover up her sexual encounter with the married pastor.
At a Dec. 2 meeting, church leaders convinced Miranda to sign a non-disclosure agreement that offered her weekly payments of $375 across several months if she held her tongue about Janney and Orlando Baptist, according to her suit.
Read more: www.orlandosentinel.com/features/religion/os-orlando-baptist-pastor-steps-down-20160210-story.html