Appeal renews legal fight over Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church pastor

(RNS) — Current and former members of New York City’s Abyssinian Baptist Church have filed an appeal in state Supreme Court arguing that a 2025 court ruling was in error when it dismissed their case challenging the election of the congregation’s current senior pastor.

The four plaintiffs filed a brief July 9 with the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, 1st Department, requesting that the election of the Rev. Kevin R. Johnson be set aside so a new election can be held. The plaintiffs argue that the court “misread” the church’s bylaws when it denied their petition, according to the filing.

Johnson’s election as the Harlem church’s new senior pastor was announced in June 2024, and he was installed in September of that year. He succeeded the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III , who served as a minister at the historically Black church for 50 years and died in 2022.

However, the plaintiffs say the church bylaws require a pastoral election by a majority of all members who are eligible to vote and are in good standing, rather than a majority of just the members who vote at a meeting. In total, 44% of registered church members voted in Johnson’s election.

“Nobody disputes that…