CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In an e-mail, an African American pastor at a Charlotte, North Carolina church asked that “only white people” stand at the church’s front door to greet the congregation, according to Charlotte TV station WBTV.
WBTV reports someone contacted the station after receiving an email from Makeda Pennycooke — an African American pastor at Freedom House Church.
The email was sent to a group of volunteers who serve as greeters for the church’s 9 a.m. service, WBTV reports.
“We anticipate having an increase in the number of people visiting and attending Freedom House over the next few weeks,” the email said.
WBTV reports Pennycooke went on to say that “first impressions matter” and that “the church wants the best of the best on the front doors.”
“We are continuing to work to bring our racial demographic pendulum back to mid-line,” she wrote, according to WBTV. “So we would like to ask that only white people be on the front doors.”
WBTV contacted the church and a spokeswoman said a letter of apology was issued to some people from Pastor Pennycooke.
“The pastors have been meeting with staff and church members to confirm their commitment to diversity and to ensure nothing like this happens again,” church officials told WBTV. “Freedom House believes in a diverse relationship within its membership, reflecting the larger community in which the church resides, doing life together as a church representative of everyone — culturally, ethnically, economically, and generationally.”
Read more: WBTV.com
