Geraldine Sumter, an attorney in the law firm of Ferguson, Stein, Chambers, Gresham & Sumter, has been appointed special council in the bankruptcy case involving Greater Salem Church.

Geraldine Sumter

The appointment came last week at the request of the church through its primary bankruptcy attorney, Richard Mitchell.

Court documents did not specify what role Sumter would play but did note that she “has experiences in matters of church governance.”

“The major factor causing the Debtor’s financial distress was the fact that the Debtor lacked effective procedures of church governance,” the request stated.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Hodges approved the request on Thursday.

Sumter will be paid $350 an hour.

An undergraduate of Howard University, Sumter received her law degree from Duke University School of law. According to the firm’s website, she specializes in worker’s compensation, employment and civil rights.

Greater Salem filed for bankruptcy protection in November, 2010, to avoid a foreclosure sale after it defaulted on a $5 million loan from a California-based Christian credit union. Less than a month later, the church’s co-pastors, Anthony and Harriet Jinwright, were sentenced to federal prison for conspiracy and tax evasion.

Greater Salem members recently installed Bishop Alan G. Porter as their new senior pastor.

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