Resurrection Lutheran Church – Juneau, Alaska, USA

Resurrection Lutheran Church (RLC), Juneau, Alaska, USA

Important Notice Regarding Resurrection Lutheran Church
Resurrection Lutheran Church (“RLC”) remains the subject of a serious governance controversy now entering its third year. The council members (RLC Council) who recognize Karen Lawfer as RLC Council President do not presently recommend visiting the church without first confirming who is exercising control of the facility and whether the activity or program you intend to attend is operating.

Some information preserved on this website describes programs and ministries previously conducted at or in association with RLC, including the RLC Food Pantry, RLC Cafeteria and Dining Room, RLC Shelter Services, Juneau Live! Studio and its television-production program, RLC Nourishes educational services, and RLC worship services. Some or all of these programs are currently suspended, relocated, or operating differently while the governance dispute and the appeal pending before the Alaska Supreme Court remain unresolved. Historical information is retained to document the congregation’s ministries and community service. Nourish Communities Foundation is now a separate organization. Information about its current programs and services is available at nourishcommunities.org. The council members supporting President Lawfer sincerely regret the effects that the controversy and litigation have had on RLC’s members, volunteers, community partners, and patrons—particularly people experiencing homelessness or food insecurity. Current information concerning the controversy, the pending appeal, and the status of particular programs appears below.

The Continuing Controversy

The controversy concerns church governance, the removal of Pastor Karen Perkins, and competing claims regarding the authority of RLC’s congregational council and officers. Karen Lawfer and the council members who recognize her as RLC Council President maintain that a faction within the congregation, after failing to secure a council majority at the 2024 annual meeting, used procedurally and constitutionally improper means to obtain control of council offices. They contend that the resulting officers were later removed, but that former Alaska Synod Bishop Shelley Wickstrom subsequently reinstated the disputed president despite questions concerning her removal and eligibility to continue serving on the council.

Lawfer and the council members supporting her further contend that this action facilitated a congregational vote intended to terminate Pastor Perkins’ call before the congregation had completed its discernment process. They maintain that the vote and the subsequent synod proceedings did not comply with RLC’s governing documents or applicable ELCA procedures. They also question the roles of former Bishop Wickstrom and current Bishop Timothy Oslovich in the proceedings under *C15.11 and †S17.11 that ultimately resulted in Pastor Perkins’ removal from the ELCA roster. The bishops and opposing congregational faction dispute, or may dispute, these characterizations.

The disputed president later filed an action in the Alaska Superior Court in RLC’s name against Council President Karen Lawfer, Pastor Karen Perkins, and programs manager Bradley Perkins. Among other relief, the plaintiffs sought recognition of their authority to govern RLC. The Superior Court concluded that it could not adjudicate claims concerning Pastor Perkins’ employment and ecclesiastical status. The court also denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, granted the plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary judgment, deferred to the synod’s determinations concerning church governance, and entered final judgment identifying the plaintiffs as the prevailing parties.

Lawfer and the other appellants dispute both the authority under which the lawsuit was brought and the Superior Court’s treatment of the governance controversy. Their appeal remains pending before the Alaska Supreme Court in Lawfer, et al. v. Resurrection Lutheran Church, et al., Supreme Court No. S-19777. The appellate court has not yet decided the merits of that appeal.

Throughout the controversy, Lawfer and the council members supporting her report that they continued holding regularly scheduled meetings and distributing agendas, reports, and minutes. They maintain that restrictions involving RLC’s facilities, finances, and administrative resources were adopted in response to conduct they considered disruptive or harmful to the congregation and its ministries. They also state that they remain willing to communicate with members of the opposing group when discussions can be conducted respectfully and constructively.

Understanding the Alleged Constitutional Violations

The council members supporting Lawfer published a series of position statements explaining their interpretation of RLC’s governing documents and the constitutional violations they believe occurred. They have recently reaffirmed those statements.

Concerns About Harassment and Bullying

Lawfer, Pastor Perkins, Bradley Perkins, and other council members report that the congregation experienced more than two years of harassment and bullying directed at the pastor, council members, and certain guests. They contend that repeated requests for intervention were not adequately investigated or addressed by former Bishop Wickstrom or Bishop Oslovich.

They further maintain that Bishop Wickstrom’s advice that Pastor Perkins should “just leave,” together with later synod actions, emboldened members of the opposing faction and deepened the congregation’s division. These allegations remain disputed, and readers are encouraged to review the parties’ source documents and the appellate filings.
In anticipation of RLC’s 100th-anniversary observance, scheduled for September 18–20, 2026, Lawfer and the council members supporting her sent the following notice concerning the pending appeal and their continuing concerns.

Letter to ELCA Presiding Bishop and Churchwide Council

September 4, 2026

Sent by email to bishop@elca.org, sec@elca.org and jodi.slattery@elca.org.

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, Presiding Bishop
ELCA Churchwide Council, c/o the Rev. Lucille “CeCee” Mills, Secretary (and Jodi Slattery, ELCA)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
8765 W. Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60631

Regarding: Resurrection Lutheran Church of Juneau; Lawfer, et al. v. Resurrection Lutheran Church, et al., Alaska Supreme Court No. S-19777
Notice of Pending Appeal — Request for Independent Churchwide Review, Preservation of Records, and Protection of Resurrection Lutheran Church Assets

Summary
The litigation and the underlying church-governance controversy are not finally settled. The Alaska Supreme Court appeal remains pending (attached Appellants’ accepted opening brief; the accepted Excerpt of Record is available upon request), and the appellees’ response brief is not due until September 25, 2026 (attached Alaska Supreme Court Order Extending Time to File Brief, S-19777)—after RLC’s September 18–20 centennial weekend. I ask ELCA and Alaska Synod leaders to avoid treating the trial-court judgment (attached Superior Court Final Judgment and Decree and the November 24, 2025 Order on Pending Motions) as final vindication, to preserve relevant evidence, and to arrange an independent review before any major action involving RLC’s assets or future. For background on the controversy, see the attached RLC Programs Brochure (September 2025), Helpful Summaries to the RLC Council Position Statements, and One-Page Constitutional Overview.

Purpose and timing
We write because Resurrection Lutheran Church of Juneau (“RLC”) is preparing to celebrate its centennial from September 18 through September 20, 2026. The celebration materials (attached Plaintiffs’ Distributed Centennial Program and $100,000 Fundraising Solicitation) seek $100,000 for roofing and building improvements, identify Alaska Synod Bishop Tim Oslovich as a participant, and promote continued outreach. In appellants’ view, however, they describe only a small portion of RLC’s former outreach and outside use of the facility since the superior court’s November 24, 2025, order. We respect RLC’s century of ministry and want that ministry to continue. At the same time, the anniversary should not be used—expressly or by implication—to suggest that the governance, pastoral, financial, and property disputes have been finally resolved or that the ELCA has endorsed one side’s account.

If Presiding Bishop Curry or other churchwide representatives plan to attend, speak, lend their names to the celebration, or support the fundraising appeal, we respectfully ask that they receive this notice and the attached court documents first.

What the public court record establishes

The appeal is pending in the Alaska Supreme Court as No. S-19777; it is not a criminal appeal and is not pending in the Alaska Court of Appeals.
On August 26, 2026, the Clerk of the Appellate Courts granted the appellees’ request for a 30-day extension. Their response brief is now due September 25, 2026.
The superior court entered a Final Judgment and Decree in favor of the plaintiff as the prevailing party, based on its November 24, 2025 order granting a motion to dismiss and a cross-motion for summary judgment. That judgment is the subject of the pending appeal.
No Alaska appellate court has yet affirmed that judgment or adopted the appellees’ factual narrative. The appeal asks the Supreme Court to reverse or vacate the judgment on jurisdictional, neutral-principles, summary-judgment, and discovery grounds.

Disputed matters requiring independent review
The following are contested allegations and issues, not findings we ask you to accept as proven. They are identified because they warrant preservation of evidence and review by persons who are not implicated in the dispute:

Governance authority. Whether the selection and actions of Lisa Brendle and the council or officers acting with her complied with RLC’s constitution and bylaws, and whether subsequent actions were valid.
Pastoral call and roster process. Whether the removal of the Rev. Karen Perkins from her call, and any related discipline or roster-status consequences, complied with RLC, Alaska Synod, and ELCA governing documents and required procedures.
Synod involvement and conflicts. The roles, communications, and potential conflicts of former Alaska Synod Bishop Shelley Wickstrom, current Bishop Tim Oslovich, members of the Synod Executive Committee and Council, and RLC officers concerning governance, pastoral status, finances, property, and litigation strategy.
Finances and property. Appellants have raised serious concerns about control, accounting, expenditure, or possible diversion of substantial congregational funds; access to records and personal property; and possible plans affecting the continued operation, encumbrance, closure, or sale of RLC. These claims should not be publicly stated as proven criminal conduct without evidence and adjudication.
Conduct and motive. Allegations of bullying, retaliation, and intentional efforts to punish dissenting members or leaders and to reshape or end RLC’s historic ministry in Juneau.

We are not asking you to prejudge these issues in appellants’ favor. We are asking you not to prejudge them in the other direction, and not to permit celebration, fundraising, or institutional messaging to substitute for a fair review.

Requested actions

Acknowledge the pending appeal. Please confirm that ELCA and Alaska Synod leaders understand that Supreme Court No. S-19777 remains pending and that the appellees’ response brief is due September 25, 2026.
Use accurate public language. Please do not describe the trial-court judgment as a final appellate resolution, a complete factual exoneration, or proof that all governance and financial allegations were adjudicated after discovery and trial.
Designate an independent churchwide reviewer. Please appoint a person or panel outside the Alaska Synod leadership and RLC leadership whose conduct or communications are at issue, with authority to review governing documents, financial records, nonprivileged communications, and pastoral-process records, subject to applicable privileges and confidentiality requirements.
Preserve documents and data. Please direct all relevant ELCA, Alaska Synod, and RLC custodians—including current and former bishops, council members, officers, employees, volunteers, and agents—to preserve paper and electronic records, email, text and messaging data, cloud files, calendars, minutes, recordings, financial records, donor records, property records, and communications with counsel concerning RLC, its pastor, governance, litigation, assets, or possible closure or sale.
Protect congregational assets. Pending appellate review and independent inquiry, please request that no extraordinary transfer, distribution, encumbrance, sale, or other disposition of RLC real property or substantial funds occur without documented congregational authority, independent review, and compliance with applicable law and governing documents.
Disclose participation and conflicts. Please identify who from churchwide and the Alaska Synod plans to participate in the centennial or fundraising and disclose any role those persons had in the events now under appeal.
Meet before the centennial. Please arrange a prompt meeting with appellants’ designated representatives and counsel or provide a written response before September 18, 2026.

Why this matters to RLC’s mission
RLC’s centennial should honor a congregation that has served Juneau for one hundred years, including people in need. The present conflict has fractured that community and threatens confidence in its governance, pastoral care, finances, and future. A careful response from churchwide and synod leaders can protect both due process and the congregation’s ability to continue its ministry, whose mission is:

“The mission of Resurrection Lutheran Church is to promote spiritual growth in Christ and service to all people.”

Nothing in this notice asks the ELCA or the Alaska Synod to decide the Alaska appeal. It asks you to recognize that the appeal is active, preserve evidence, avoid misleading institutional messaging, and avoid creating the appearance through the centennial celebration or fundraising campaign that the controversy is over.

Sincerely,

Karen Lawfer, President
Resurrection Lutheran Church
klawfer@gci.net, (907) 723-2123‬

cc: Pastor Mark Holman, by email to holman28@gmail.com and rlcjuneauak@gmail.com.
Pastor Mark Griffith, by email to pastor@slukes.org.
Alaska Synod Council, by email, c/o Alaska Synod Bishop by email to aksynodbishop@gmail.com.
Alaska Synod Bishop Tim Oslovich, by email to aksynodbishop@gmail.com.
RLC Council Members, by email.
Bradley Perkins, counsel to the RLC Council and President (admitted in California and Hawaii, not Alaska), by email to producer@juneaulive.org.
Jeffery Troutt, Esq., Counsel to RLC, by email to jefferytroutt@gmail.com.

Attachments

RLC Council materials

Download All Attachments

Download this Letter ELCA Notice of Pending RLC Appeal