JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX I-TEAM is digging deeper into claims made against Stovall Weems, the founding pastor of Celebration Church.
The I-TEAM has obtained what are called “office hospitality cheat sheets” that outline what Weems and his wife wanted to be served every day, and what time. The documents include food and beverage service for Weems and his wife.
A former staffer confirmed the legitimacy of the sheets, and the investigative report also refers to portions of the sheets. They read:
PSW (Pastor Stovall Weems)
- Coffee:
- Kcup, splash of half and half, 2 spoons of agave
- Make another cup about 2 hours after his first cup as he will only have a few sips and his cup will get cold
- Water
- Always have a bottle of water and cup next to his chair in office.
- Electrolyte drink: Around 2:30pm
- Tablets are in the kitchen drawer.
- Fill a cup with water and ice and place one electrolyte tablet inside.
- FOOD
- Lunch
- Check in with team to find out where they are ordering food that day.
- If not appealing or you feel like PSW (Pastor Stovall Weems) would not like it, please go through Menu Binder and make decision based on what can be delivered through Uber Eats/Grub Hub.
- Pick highlighted items.
- Snack – around 2:30pm.
- Blue Chips with salsa
- Munk protein cookie
PK (Pastor Kerri)
- Coffee:
- If PK (Pastor Kerri) is coming to the office in morning, please grab Starbucks order on the way in.
- Tall, extra hot, extra shot, mocha, no whip
- Tea (around 2:30pm):
- Peppermint tea:
- 2 spoons of honey
- Earl Grey:
- Splash of half and half,
- 2 spoons of honey
- Water:
- Always have a bottle of water and cup on her desk in her office
- FOOD:
- Lunch:
- Check in with team to find out where they are ordering food that day.
- Check menu binder for what PK orders from that location.
- Text her where they are going, what you planned on ordering. FYI – NO PANERA BREAD.
- If not appealing to her or you feel like PK would not like it, please go through Menu Binder and make a decision based on what can be delivered through Uber Eats/Grub Hub.
- Pick highlighted items and text her options. Keep text short and simple.
- Snack: Around 2:30pm
- Baked Lays
- Mixed nuts
- Blueberries/raspberries mix
- Carrots with ranch dressing
We obtained these sheets that former staff members tell @wjxt4 outline some of the daily demands made by Pastor Stovall Weems. E.g. Serve him a cup of coffee w/ a splash of half & half and 2 spoons of agave. At 2:30 PM- a snack of blue chips & salsa plus a protein cookie. pic.twitter.com/slsrtsU1CJ
— Renee Beninate (@reneebeninate) April 28, 2022
Both office hospitality cheat sheets had the following at the bottom:
“Serving preferences: Please place all food in real dishes. Put dishes on serving tray (located in office closet) napkins, utensils, etc. They will eat from the tray that you bring in to them.”
The investigative report from the church’s attorneys say these instructions, similar to over-the-top green room riders required by celebrities, reflected the Weemses’ immense entitlement and self-importance.
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In a lawsuit, Weems says a board member and former church chief financial officer had misused church money. The church told the News4JAX I-TEAM on Wednesday that its board hired an outside law firm to investigate those claims and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
In an amended motion to dismiss, Celebration Church tells the court is has no jurisdiction in the matter as the Weemses have resigned. It included the copy of Stovall Weems’ resignation letter. A court hearing for May 20 is scheduled.
Some have commented on Stovall Weems’ Instagram account about the accusations, and shortly after midnight, there was a lengthy reply from the stovallweems Instagram account with 14 bullet points of information, which has since been deleted. It read:
“1. Have you seen one piece of evidence from these accusations?
“2. Why didn’t they do the annual independent financial audit? Why did they mysteriously cancel it
“3. How can you have a financial investigation without an independent financial audit?
“4. Why was I the one that demanded a financial audit and why is that redacted from the 2021 Sept board minutes?
“5. Why did they never ask me one question or give me one interview about any of these accusations?
“6. Due process is a civil liberty. They even interview and question people accused of murder.
“7. Why are all sources and interviews anonymous and even 3rd party anonymous in their interviews?
“8. Why in their motion to dismiss do they redact 85% of the board minutes.
“9. Why wasn’t the trustee that was exposed for fraud, with lots of evidence and documentation, and the former CFO ever investigated for anything? Not only were they not investigated, they were protected and still active. Why?
“10. Why did it take them nearly 9 months of planning to pull this off?
“11. Why did the church’s revenue drop over $6M in one year in 2021? The year the new leadership was leading the church., not me. And why did so many people leave the church? Celebration is a shadow of what it once was.
“12. What “bigger picture” could their attorney be trying to hide and protect? Where did he come from and what other organizations could be involved?
“13. I have made a ton of mistakes as a man and a pastor, but these are lies and twisted facts. I will own and repent of anything I need to own in my leadership. And I’ve done that many times and will continue to do so.
“14. But in this case, we not only did not do anything criminal, we didn’t do anything wrong. And we have the documentation to prove it and we will.
“God bless and thank you for your prayers
“God bless and if you can remember please pray for my family and for the church, and for the people doing these terrible things.”
On Wednesday, Celebration Church sent the I-TEAM this statement:
“On March 1, 2022, Stovall Weems’ attorney made a written demand that Celebration Church of Jacksonville, Inc. conduct an investigation into alleged wrongdoing by its trustee and its former Chief Financial Officer. The church retained Nelson Mullins to perform this investigation. Both (trustee and former CFO) fully cooperated in the investigation, including turning over thousands of pages of documents and agreeing to be interviewed. The investigation identified no evidence that either acted wrongfully or illegally. Accordingly, Nelson Mullins recommended that the Board accept these conclusions of “no cause” and close the investigation without further action, which the Board approved.”
An investigation by the church’s attorneys accuses Weems of misusing $500,000 of paycheck protection program loan money meant for payroll and operations to invest in a risky digital investment called TurnCoin. The Stovall Weems Ministries Instagram account commented on a post saying: “No PPP money was used. And the church’s $100k investment is now worth over $1.5 million.”
RELATED: Celebration Church founding pastor steps down amid legal battle | ‘Your church is OK’: Celebration Church pastor reassures congregation amid legal dispute | I-TEAM: Celebration Church in legal dispute with founding pastors | I-TEAM: Celebration Church pastors deny misuse of PPP money | I-TEAM: Celebration Church in legal dispute with founding pastors
A spokesperson for Weemses told the I-TEAM they believe he has documentation of that, but they can’t release it because of ongoing litigation.
The report also accuses the Weemses of creating a culture of fear and intimidation. Someone who used to work for the Weemses, but didn’t want to be identified, told the I-TEAM that the report reflected their experience.
Weems has called the allegations against him baseless and a character assassination. The church also declined to release the thousands of documents reviewed in the investigation. However, the board has said it’s accepting the investigation’s recommendations to engage in the Christian Reconciliation Process, which calls for mediation.