I didn’t think it was possible for something to get me more outraged than something Donald Trump did. But something playing out in my hometown of Charlotte has done exactly that, and then some. A yearly convocation at a Charlotte megachurch has triggered the area’s first bona fide super spreader—and there is now overwhelming evidence that this was a criminal act.
Earlier this month, the United House of Prayer for All People held a “holy convocation” at its flagship church in Charlotte, just north of downtown. Two weeks later, it emerged that scads of positive coronavirus tests were linked to that convocation. As of this writing, 143 positive tests in Charlotte and three surrounding counties have been traced to this gathering, including seven hospitalizations and five deaths. However, even that number may be too low. The convocation attracted people from five states, and health officials are trying to track down almost 200 people who had close contact with people who tested positive.
Even when it was clear beyond all doubt that this gathering had caused a super spreader, what passes for leadership at this church refused to cooperate with Mecklenburg County health officials. Far from it—they were actually planning to start a weeklong revival on Sunday. This all but forced county health officials to issue an abatement order that shut down in-person gatherings at all three United House of Prayer churches in Charlotte for at least two weeks—including the church at the center of the outbreak.
This was enough by itself to make me blow a gasket. My neighborhood is a mere three stoplights north of this church, which has had a presence in the area for a long time. The prospect that people with whom I grew up, people in my neighborhood, could have been exposed because of this church’s recklessness is beyond outrageous. After all, there was no defensible reason why this gathering couldn’t have been virtual.
Just when it couldn't get more obscene, several United House of Prayer members reached out to WCNC-TV in Charlotte to say that church leaders were well aware of mushrooming case counts, including deaths, during a 12-week run of convocations across the East Coast which culminated in Charlotte. And yet, according to these members, church leaders sat on their hands and let the gatherings continue.
If this is even half true, then the United House of Prayer basically planted a dirty bomb in Charlotte—with my neighborhood as the epicenter. That’s the only way you can describe knowing that you had people not only getting sick, but dying, and still keeping on with this convocation caravan and bringing it to Charlotte.
But if there was any doubt that this situation was firmly in “what did they know and when did they know it” territory, it was erased yesterday when WCNC got its hands on a letter that the church’s top leader, Bishop C. M. Bailey, wrote to church members in June pressuring members to keep coming to church. Watch more details here.
In the letter, Bailey—or "Sweet Daddy,” as he is called by church members—said that even with restrictions on mass gatherings at the state and local level, “I still expect you to come when you can.” He =wagged his finger at people who didn’t feel safe coming to services, saying, “Don’t make excuses for not coming when you are able to come.”
Bailey then wagged his finger at pastors who had the good sense to encourage their flocks to stay home if they didn’t feel safe being in church. His warning to them has to be reproduced in full to be believed.
“Don’t let my people become lazy and non supportive because of your weak state. Bring my children to the mountain. Let them come to service and give God everything.”
Any church leader with an iota of decency at this time would have encouraged his flock to stay home if they didn’t feel safe being out. Not Bailey. He thought it was a sign of a “weak state.”
This would be outrageous enough by itself. But put that next to reports that Bailey and other church “leaders” showed a disregard for the safety of their members and the general public that would do Trump proud. The fact that they brought this to my hometown is so damn obscene that I’m literally at a loss for words.
When I saw this roll across my phone, I was so angry that I went live on YouTube and Periscope to demand these jackwagons be held accountable. Watch here. Pardon any messiness; not only was I livestreaming on two platforms, but I was so angry that I could barely see and think straight.
I’m still ripping now. Somebody at the local or federal level needs to grow a set and investigate this. And by all rights, this church has forfeited its right to exist. Every so-called leader in this church needs to go to prison. This is something that no society can tolerate. Period.