A church in Hanover has become the subject of much ridicule and scrutiny following reports that the pastor and a deacon clashed in the churchyard during an argument over offering.

THE WEEKEND STAR heard that some two weeks ago, after preaching the sermon and ending the church service shortly after, the two elders began arguing after the deacon was accused of not throwing his offering for some time.

One member of the church who contacted THE WEEKEND STAR said the altercation occurred in full view of a number of persons who had not yet left and were still in the churchyard. The pastor's house is said to share the same yard space as the church and it is said that they were trying to keep away from the ears of the other church members but got a little too loud and eventually attracted their attention.

"I could not believe what I saw. These two persons are suppose to be elders and leaders of the church and really did nothing but to set a bad example ... And to think they were arguing over offering money really makes no sense," the church member who requested anonymity said.

hardships

According to her, the deacon was heard trying to explain that he had ran into some hardships and as such could not throw any money as offering while the pastor counter-argued that the deacon could nevertheless find money to do other things. At one point, the men seemed as they were even going to throw punches at each other but were restrained by other church members.

Efforts to contact the pastor were unsuccessful as calls to his cellphone went unanswered on several occasions.

church business

However, the deacon who also begged for anonymity confirmed the incident but was reluctant in saying what exactly happened.

"Well, you say people from the church have contacted you, so I guess you heard everything already. That is church business, so there is nothing I will say," he told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Other members for whom contact numbers were provided made similar claims and at least one even claimed she would be seeking to worship at another church as a result of the incident she describes as "shameful".

"Is a shameful ting, man, mi cyaa go dem church deh and feel good in a mi soul. Pastor and deacon a cuss ova offering and all did look like dem a guh fight, mi neva hear bout dat nowhere else yet ... . Mi son, mi a tell u di truth, mi a look somewhere else fi go worship mi God," 42-year-old Margaret James of Kew district in the parish said.

Asked of what she heard during the argument, James recalled, "Mi neva hear di whole argument eno, but mi only hear when di deacon a seh him neva have no money and like di pastor a seh a lie di deacon a tell."

She also added that she has been a member of the church for some nine years and venture on at least an hourlong trip to the church every Sunday.

Meanwhile, word of the clash has even reached the ears of the Area One police. Corporal Matthew Ainsley said though there were no formal reports, the police had heard of the incident.