LAWYERS for the suspended head of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, Paul Verryn, said on Friday that Verryn disputed the charges laid against him by his church, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

Verryn was suspended last week and faces two disciplinary charges, the first for his initiating a court action to have a curator appointed to ensure The best interests of parentless children liv­ing in the church.

The Methodist Church said he had done so with­out authority.

Ultimately, the curator case was pursued by the Aids Law Pro­ject and not by Verryn, but Verryn was involved when it started.

The second charge related to Verryn's talking to the media after he was instructed not to.

The Central Methodist Church provides refuge to mnre than 3 000 refugees and homeless peo­ple, mostly from Zimbabwe.

But it has been criticised for overcrowding and unhealthy liv­ing conditions, which spill into the streets of central Johannesburg.

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC), representing Verryn, said it was necessary to respond to "much inaccurate speculation regarding the basis of the pur­ported suspension".

When Verryn's suspension was announced, lawyers for the Methodist Church said the rea­sons could not be disclosed, lead­ing to media speculation.

The LRC said: "Specific media reports have linked Verryn's sus­pension to allegations involving sexual abuse of persons living at the Central Methodist Church.

"No attempt has been made by the presiding bishop (Ivan Abra­hams) or his legal representatives to correct this speculation."

The LRC said Verryn disputed both charges, which were "of a procedural or technical nature" and "entirely unrelated to any of the grounds that emerged from media speculation".

The LRC said underlying the charges was a dispute between Verryn and Abrahams.
Verryn has requested that the disciplinary hearing be postponed pending church mediation.

FRANNY RABKIN