Members of a church brought an application seeking an interlocutory injunction preventing a congregational meeting to vote on the dismissal of the senior pastor and requesting a mandatory order requiring the church to admit additional individuals to membership.
The dispute arose after church elders decided to limit consideration of new membership applications to those submitted before a specified date while simultaneously proposing to add twelve members prior to the vote.
The court held that although civil courts should be cautious when intervening in the internal affairs of religious organizations, intervention is appropriate where the process is unfair or contrary to principles of natural justice.
The court found the elders’ process unfair because it materially altered the membership composition while excluding other similarly situated applicants.
An injunction preventing the meeting was granted and certain additional individuals were permitted to submit their names for membership consideration.
