SAN ANTONIO – A court battle is brewing involving the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs.
A lawsuit filed on May 17 alleges memberships were thrown out before a vote was made on what to do with the old church building.
On November 5, 2017, a gunman began shooting into the church during Sunday service. He then walked in and continued to shoot people inside.
Twenty-six members of the small congregation were killed and 22 others were injured.
In August 2021, a vote was cast on whether to demolish the structure or to keep it.
The result was 66 to 33 in favor of tearing it down.
According to lawsuit plaintiff Aimee Crowder, there are concerns about what happened before the vote was taken.
“It was not okay for my grandmother to be in there ripping out everybody’s memberships that she could,” Crowder said. “Most of the survivors that we know of, their memberships were taken and the victims’ families were thrown out.”
The grandmother that Crowder referred to is Sherry Pomeroy, the wife of former Pastor Frank Pomeroy. The Pomeroys helped Crowder’s mother when she was a teen and Crowder has always referred to them as her grandparents.
Two years ago Pomeroy ended his tenure as pastor at the church.
“I don’t know what Aimee thinks she saw,” Pomeroy said in a Zoom interview. “The membership was in a computer, it’s not like you just go in and rip things out.”
Furthermore, Pomeroy said that minutes were kept for every meeting discussing the future of the church, and reminders were constantly sent out to everyone to check their memberships.
A few weeks before the vote, Pomeroy said a town hall was held so everyone could again check their memberships and also get a chance to speak their opinions.
He said church attorneys advised him not to participate in the vote personally to avoid future issues, which he said he complied with.
“I made sure we had every ‘t’ crossed and every ‘i’ dotted,” Pomeroy said. “Everything I ran by the lawyers, just to make sure that no ugliness could come against us.”
Crowder said after the vote, she started hearing complaints about newer members being able to vote but not other long-term members of the church.
“I don’t think it matters about what all the new members think about what should happen to the church, it only matters of what the survivors and the victims’ families think about it,” Crowder said.
The lawsuit filed by Crowder and Deann Staton says the church by-laws state that a member can only be dismissed for one of five reasons:
- by transfer of letter
- by death
- by exclusion
- by inactivity
- by withdrawal
Staton claims she and her husband were removed for inactivity but argue they were still members and were away for work and were never contacted about the vote.
Pomeroy said he spoke to the new pastor of the church, who wasn’t even aware a lawsuit had been filed.
“He feels as though everything was done the way it should have been,” Pomeroy said.
Pomeroy is now concerned this lawsuit will stir up controversy and cause hurt all over again.
“I’m not exactly sure where this comes from, therefore, I don’t know if Aimee realizes the potential hurt,” Pomeroy said.
Crowder said she is pushing forward.
“Most of the survivors that I have talked to have been ecstatic, that we are trying to save the building,” Crowder said.
Crowder’s legal team is currently working on getting a temporary restraining order so no action can be taken on the building until the lawsuit is settled.