YOUNGSTOWN Couple sues church over donation amount

The couple says they contributed to the church but refused to tithe.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An Austintown church is being sued by a Youngstown couple who say the pastor defamed them in an attempt to make them tithe.
Ron and Christine Ward of South Belle Vista Avenue are seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit. It was filed this week in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against Mahoning Valley Community Church Assembly of God, its senior pastor, the Rev. Matthew Varnell, its associate pastor, the Rev. Cookie Centofanti, and the Ohio District Council of the Assemblies of God.
The complaint is assigned to Judge James C. Evans.
Centofanti declined to comment, referring questions to the Rev. Mr. Varnell, who was out of town and unavailable to comment. In the lawsuit, the Wards say Mr. Varnell repeatedly demanded that they give one-tenth of their gross income to support the Mahoning Avenue church, of which they are members.
The couple says in court documents that although they regularly contributed to the church they refused to tithe.
"They voluntarily gave what they thought was a fair contribution to the church," said Atty. Marshall D. Buck, who represents the Wards. "The church kept pressuring them and pressuring them. They didn't feel that what the church wanted them to do was appropriate."
Counseling sessions
The suit says that during the course of their membership, the Wards underwent counseling by the Rev. Mrs. Centofanti at $25 per session.
The counseling was to be strictly confidential between the Wards and Mrs. Centofanti, the suit says.
It says that during the counseling, Mrs. Centofanti repeatedly demanded that the couple tithe, which they refused to do.
Buck said the pastoral pressure to tithe lasted more than a year.
In August 2002, the couple was contacted by their daughter's school, asking them to house a foreign exchange student, which they did.
The Wards say that Mrs. Centofanti disclosed to Mr. Varnell things that had been discussed in the confidential counseling sessions. Mr. Varnell in turn contacted the foreign exchange program coordinator, made false statements about them, and said they were unfit to house a foreign exchange student, the suit says.
The Wards say in the lawsuit that Mr. Varnell made the false statements in an attempt to coerce them into tithing.
bjackson@vindy.com