Ellijay First United Methodist Church gives real story
A Facebook post claiming that Ellijay First United Methodist Church (EFUMC) kicked out the Boy Scouts is fake news.
“The Ellijay First United Methodist Church has never locked out the Boy Scouts from the United Methodist Scout Hut,” a letter sent to the Times-Courier from both the EFUMC and the Northeast Georgia Council of Boy Scouting (NGCBS) said.
The EFUMC will continue to support “all local Scouts and other local Civic Organizations,” the letter said.
Any other information on the subject is “inaccurate” and “false.”
The NGCBS also confirmed in the letter that online information on the Boy Scouts being thrown out wasn’t true.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of Ellijay First United Methodist Church. It has helped impact many young lives in Scouting over the years, and we look forward to continuing this great partnership,” NGCBS Scout Executive Trip Selman said in the letter.
The Times-Courier independently confirmed that the hut still has its Scouts of America Troop 402, Cub Scouts Pack 402 and Girl Scouts Troop 25,000 sign outside.
The online post, shared by an account by the name of Geraldine Petkus, claimed the church had kicked out “The Boy Scouts,” but didn’t list a particular troop number.
The post said that church leaders assured the Boy Scouts that they wouldn’t be removed, but then kicked the group out so the church could rent the building as well.
The post also claimed church leaders lied about the hut being dirty when members left and locked the Boy Scouts out of the hut with no advanced notification.
Finally, the post alleged that the church planned to take legal action against the Boy Scouts.
The post included the church’s phone number and invited the community to call the church to express disapproval.
Geraldine Petkus’s account also posted these claims in the comment section of EFUMC’s Facebook posts.
When contacted, Geraldine Petkus’s account didn’t reply. Her husband, Daniel Petkus, replied with, “No comment.”
Since the post, some people have commented on EFUMC’s social media page to insult the church and support “The Boy Scouts.”
Not everything you read online is true, and reacting to something without confirming it can cause unnecessary harm.