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Show POffll IAD TAQR W CflllPT i. Man Seeks to Enjoi n Pastor From Publishing His Wife's Confession Chicago, March C A situation which involves the resignation of a pastor from his church, the threatened threaten-ed disruption of another church and a scandal, which Is "without foundation," founda-tion," was presented in a bill for injunction in-junction hied in the superior court j here today. The bill was filed by John i Lavender and seeks to enjoin the Rev. Edw. B. Crawford, pastor of the Wood-lawn Wood-lawn Park Methodist church, and the trustees and stewards of the church, from publishing and circulating among church members a confession made by Mrs. Mary Lavender, wife of the plain-! plain-! tiif, to Dr. Crawford. The bill recites: "During January or February, 1909, E. B- Crawford, as pastor of said church, in conversation with a certain lady, received from said lady, who believed be-lieved she was conversing in confidence confi-dence between a pastor and communicant, communi-cant, certain statements regarding her spiritual condition, experience and progress, but which he interpreted to be misconduct between said lady and a certain minister, and by threatening threaten-ing to publish said alleged confession, caused tho resignation of said pastor." The pastor who resigned was the Rev. John D. Leek of the Western Avenue Methodist church. When asked ask-ed why he resigned ho replied: "Because I am a Christian and a man." ' Tho bill for injunction declares that there is no exigency which makes it necessary" to the welfare of the congregation con-gregation to publicly disseminate any information "in further betrayal of said confession, but on tho' contrary, the less agitation there is ihe better It will be for the welfare of the church and of the concregatlon." It is alleged that tho publication of j the confession was set for tonight. Dr. Crawford desiring, he says, to have ' the congregation judge whether his action in the matter have been prop- or or otherwise. As tho bill proceeds, the tone becomes be-comes more bitter against Dr. Crawford. Craw-ford. The latter is accused of "malicious "ma-licious and corrupt distortion and be- trayul of said confession." He is said I to have used "the prestige of the ofll- clal hoard to exculpate himself from tho ignoble predlcaraeut into which his dastardly distortion and betrayal of said confession have placed him." I Judge Barnes this artemoon reins- od to issue the injunction because ha said the other side, had not been nott- , fled of the application. j |