N. Phila. church's battle with pastor continues

THE REV. DANIEL E. Sutton preached yesterday on a chapter in the Gospel of St. Matthew quoting Jesus:

Upon this rock, I will build my church . . . and I will give unto thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

But before Sutton began - in fact, before he could get to the pulpit at North Philly's Second Pilgrim Baptist Church - his supporters had to cut locks off the church's front gates.

Congregants who had tried to lock Sutton out of the church, on 15th Street near Poplar, had called police.

That faction filed a lawsuit in July to stop Sutton from trying to sell the church. The group also sent Sutton a letter on Aug. 24, telling him that he was being fired as of last Sunday, after eight years.

Wiley Walker, the church financial secretary, said that members of the board of trustees and the deacon board sent the letter to Sutton's lawyer because they don't know where Sutton lives.

But a police supervisor told Walker that without a court order, the police could not force Sutton to leave the church.

"I am so upset they broke into the church," said Barbara Greene, the church treasurer. "They cut the locks. They broke into the front door. The pastor has been fired."

Congregant Calvin Taylor, a lawyer representing the members suing Sutton, said that on Friday a Common Pleas judge rejected a motion from Sutton's lawyers to remove a legal claim that prevents Sutton from selling the church.

Asked about yesterday's events, Alan Milstein, a lawyer for Sutton, said: "It's pretty obvious these congregants can't get along, and at some point there has to be some mechanism to decide who is the church and how it should be run. I don't think the court is the right place."

The lawsuit said that Sutton signed an agreement of sale in March and then called for a board of directors meeting to authorize him to sell the church months after he signed the agreement.

Those suing Sutton said that the church property, located in a busy developing area near Temple University, is valued at more than $2 million and that Sutton agreed to sell it for only $1 million.

The lawsuit also said that members don't know what bank is holding a $125,000 deposit in an escrow account.

Sutton had his supporters in church yesterday. About 275 people were enthusiastic about his emotional preaching style.

Member Sheila Armstrong said that the spirit was telling her to follow Sutton.

Sutton also invited Ikea Coney to address the congregation yesterday.

Coney is the mother of Darrin Manning, a 16-year-old high-school honor student who claimed that he was seriously injured when a police officer allegedly roughed him up while he was headed to a basketball game with his teammates in January.

Coney, with her son standing beside her, praised Sutton for being a good minister who had helped her and her son.

Coney said to Sutton, "If you have to go from place to place every Sunday, I will go with you."

On Twitter: @ValerieRussDN