St Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church has accused Patricia Gordon Pamplin, the Minister of Home Affairs, of being “deliberately misleading” in her handling of the Reverend Nicholas Tweed’s work permit.

The Church, which had kept relatively silent on the matter since Ms Gordon-Pamplin confirmed last Thursday that Mr Tweed’s appeal had been rejected, outlined in a multifaceted statement its belief that the minister responsible for immigration operated below expected standards.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin said last week that the pastor’s application had been turned down because it was incomplete and contained inaccuracies. However, she was not prepared to make further details public without permission from the AME Church or Mr Tweed.

But the Church has now hit back, saying that Ms Gordon-Pamplin has wrongly focused her attention on an approved 2013 work permit and Mr Tweed’s marriage to Phyllis Curtis-Tweed, the principal of the Berkeley Institute, while misrepresenting the exchange that led to a claim that the clergy failed to advertise for the position in keeping with immigration regulations that were upgraded in 2014.

“Since the Minister of Home Affairs’ statement of December 29, significant misinformation has been spread regarding the AME Church in Bermuda, St Paul AME Church and its pastor, Reverend Nicholas Genevieve-Tweed,” the statement said. “Much of what has been said has been extremely personal.

“The minister’s assertion that ‘the application was incomplete’ is deliberately misleading. Anyone who has ever dealt with the Department of Immigration knows that they do not accept incomplete forms or applications for anything.

“The application for Mr Tweed’s work permit renewal submitted in July 2016 did have some boxes unchecked and a required signature missing. A very helpful clerk from the Department of Immigration contacted the Church to advise of this fact and the required pages were completed and returned via e-mail. The application was then submitted to the Board of Immigration for its consideration. They did, in fact, consider the application in September 2016.

“The minister’s statement is deliberately misleading because in her December 2016 correspondence, she makes numerous references to the original 2013 application for a work permit for Reverend Tweed and asserts now in 2017, four years later, that the 2013 application was incomplete.

“Not only is this irrelevant, but it is also untrue. A work permit was approved and issued on the basis of the 2013 application — to revisit it now, four years later, is more than strange.”

Mr Tweed, the Church says, took legal advice on filling out his 2013 application, with the sticking point being his marital status. That status was changed in the 2016 application, leading to the Government’s claims of “inconsistencies”.

The statement continued: “ ... in accordance with that advice, having lived apart from his spouse for at least ten years and divorce proceedings having been instituted, Reverend Tweed was advised that he could answer ‘N/A or none’ to the question of his marital status or if he had a spouse. Additionally, it was not until some time later that Dr Curtis-Tweed also returned to Bermuda to take up the post as principal of the Berkeley Institute, she having been resident in the United States for many years.

“In 2016, with Dr Curtis-Tweed now living and working in Bermuda and having become aware of the minister’s consistent queries related to his marital status, Reverend Tweed checked the box ‘Living apart: spouse residing in Bermuda and separated due to marital matters’. It is this ‘inconsistency’ which the minister cites as the main reason for her refusal of the work permit.”

On the issue of advertising for the post, the Church is adamant that the Department of Immigration and Board of Immigration pushed through the rejection without taking into consideration the special conditions that it believes apply to appointing a new AME pastor.

“When the Board considered the application in September, they communicated to the Church that in their view the post of pastor of St Paul should be advertised,” the statement says. “Within days of that decision being communicated, the Church responded to the board inviting their reconsideration of the matter on the basis that there is no mechanism within the AME Church to advertise pastorates, receive résumés from applicants, conduct interviews, shortlist candidates and appoint a successful applicant. The doctrine and discipline of the AME Church vests appointments of pastors in the sole discretion of the presiding bishop of the relevant district. This is the process in 20 Districts that span the US, Canada, the UK, the Caribbean and now India.

“The board never responded to this communication nor did the department. The next move was the October 2016 ‘refusal by the minister’ of the application to renew the work permit. That refusal was predicated on the purported ‘refusal’ of the Church to advertise. That, too, was and is untrue.

“As a result, when, after the public outcry, the minister agreed to reconsider the matter, the application that was before her was one to waive the requirement to advertise the position. It is important to note that this matter was apparently taken from the board and each decision at every stage has been made by the minister. It must raise an issue of natural justice for the minister to hear appeals of her own decisions.”

The statement added: “What the minister did not say in her statement of last Thursday is that she has refused the Church’s application and request to waive the requirement to advertise. This is a critically important omission because it has allowed the public narrative to be that the Church has ‘repeatedly refused’ to advertise the position and by implication suggests that the policy doesn’t contemplate circumstances where that requirement might be waived. The minister’s suggestion that St Paul refuses to follow the rules is simply untrue. A waiver was requested. It has been refused.”

Finally, the Church noted that the late decision to apply for a work permit came as a result of Mr Tweed inquiring belatedly into his eligibility to apply for Bermuda status.

Ms Gordon-Pamplin, who is off the island, contacted The Royal Gazette late last night to offer a brief statement.

“I am incredulous at the assertions being put forward by the St Paul AME Church in their press release,” she said.

“These erroneous comments call into question the integrity of the technical officers in the Department of Immigration. In addition, I am confused that this statement has come from the trustees of St Paul AME Church, rather than from the employer of record in Bermuda, which is the presiding elder.

“A more fulsome response to the Church’s 15 points will be forthcoming once we have had the chance to review the file.”

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