Alleging that the church ministers themselves do not follow the rules prescribed by the book, Stanley David Christian, a member and a beneficiary of the church, questioned as to why the members are forced to follow the rules.

According to a church member, Suryakant Christian, the church ministers apparently flout the Book of Discipline because there is no constitution to govern the members that has an official sanction of the local or state administration.

“We have been fighting for a constitution since 1992, however, there was no interest shown from the higher authorities,” said Christian. He gave an example that one of its members, who is contesting the treasurer’s post, flouted the norms by staying out of the boundary of the CMC.

“As per the rules of the Book of Discipline, any church member staying out of the limits or the boundary prescribed by any Methodist church cannot contest elections,” he said.

In an open letter, signed by five members, addressed to the Pastor of the CMC and other church officials along with the district superintendent of Gujarat Regional Conference — Methodist Church of India (GRC-MCI), Immanuel Kant, Christian alleged that in spite of regular warning and petitions by law-abiding members of the church, there was no attention paid to the issues.