Sign Unchanged for Church Founded by Tennessee Pastor Arrested in Loma Linda

A photo taken Friday July 20 in Guys, Tenn., shows the church founded by Pastor Walter McGill is still called 'Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church.'

By Guy McCarthy July 21, 2012

Photo taken Friday July 20, 2012, in Guys, Tenn., shows the sign for Pastor Walter McGill's church is unchanged. Photo by Jeff Whitten, Independent Appeal. Credit Guy McCarthy

The sign at a church founded by a pastor arrested July 13 in Loma Linda remained unchanged a week later, a newspaper in Tennessee reports.

A photo taken Friday July 20 in Guys, Tenn., shows the church founded by Pastor Walter McGill is still called "Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church."

McGill and the Seventh-day Adventist Church of North America are involved in a trademark infringement dispute, according to court records. McGill is founder of Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church in Guys, Tenn., and the dispute is over use of the name "Seventh-day Adventist."

A federal judge in Tennessee has enjoined McGill and his followers "from using the mark SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST, including the use of the words SEVENTH-DAY or ADVENTIST, or the acronym SDA," court records state. McGill's refusal to abide by the court order led the warrant for his arrest.

The 66-year-old pastor was arrested on a federal contempt of court warrant July 13 on the grounds of the Loma Linda University Seventh-day Adventist Church by U.S. Marshals based in Los Angeles.

Approximately 6,500 members of the Loma Linda University Seventh-day Adventist Church comprise the largest Adventist congregation in North America, according to the church's website.

McGill is serving a 30-day jail sentence in San Bernardino County. He was being held Saturday at Central Detention Center in San Bernardino and he was ineligible for bail, according to county inmate records.

At a hearing Wednesday in Riverside, "McGill was remanded to the custody of the US Marshals to serve 30 days in custody, as per the district court's contempt order," Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said earlier this week.

McGill will serve the remainder of his time in San Bernardino County, Deputy U.S. Marshal Laura Vega said in a phone interview.

A pdf copy of the federal court order that preceded a warrant for McGill's arrest is attached to this report.

The July 20 photo was submitted to Redlands-Loma Linda Patch by the Independent Appeal newspaper in McNairy County, Tennessee.

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