Posted on 10/30/2024 9:24:59 PM PDT by Morgana
A North Carolina church is facing backlash after displaying controversial political messages on its digital billboard. People’s Baptist Church in Greenville has since removed the messages, one of which stated that “free healthcare for illegals is on the ballot.”
While the church’s website boasts of a “warm, friendly atmosphere where everyone is welcome,” at least one member of the community feels otherwise. Jessi Melendez told WITN that the political messages were “disgusting.”
“You’re talking about human beings,” said Jessi Melendez. “Human beings deserve better than that. This church needs to do better.”
The messages on the digital billboard addressed issues of immigration, healthcare, and the economy.
Melendez, a member of the Latino community, found the church’s message about immigration particularly offensive.
“You’re a church. You’re literally a church. You’re supposed to be accepting and welcoming,” said Melendez. “I’m Puerto Rican, so there’s this assumption that, ‘Oh, I’m friends with a Latina’ or, ‘This person is a part of this, so it’s okay.’ No. No, it [isn’t].”
At a recent Trump rally, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made a number of racially charged jokes, including one in which he referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean.”
The joke has resulted in considerable backlash, including from President Joe Biden, who said, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters—his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”
Biden’s remarks have resulted in another wave of backlash, as many took the president to be saying that Trump supporters, who account for roughly half the nation’s citizens, are “garbage.”
Tim Butler, who serves as senior pastor of People’s Baptist Church, told WITN that the church posted political messages to its billboard in order to encourage voters to consider the various issues at play in the election.
“This is going to affect our communities this election, so all of these items are truthfully on the ballot for American voters and faith voters this year,” said Butler.
Sandy Moyer, a member of the church, said that the messages were meant to spark conversation.
“At the end of the day, that’s what politics is, right? These are things that are affecting the community,” said Moyer. “We should be having those conversations everywhere. That’s our First Amendment right as Americans. We should be able to talk about issues.”
ChurchLeaders has reached out to People’s Baptist Church for comment and will update this article in the event of a response
A little too much on the nose but the church ⛪️ did have a point.
Do those migrants pay taxes? If not, they have no right to benefit from govt largesse. They may be humans but they’re not American citizens. Big difference.
I think the church was dead on. They don’t pay taxes and there are Americans who can’t get healthcare.
You know who should get free healthcare right off the top? All military vets. Second being police and firefighters. There I said it.
the responsibility of the church is to lay hands on the sick... and scripture says the prayer of faith will save the sick and they will recover. but there are times when it may NOT be God’s will to do a “miracle” on demand. God can use doctors.
the responsibility for collecting forced payments for others NOT in your family, or extracted from the church via state extorted health care insurance via an agnostic secular government, to pay “for profit” price gouging hospitals, corporations and the overall medical-industrial complex via forcible taxes on OTHER People... is NOT the church’s turf.
its communism.
and they want us to pay via taxes for their abortions and aids medications as well...
Too many Ammericans not paying taxes get largesse.
Musk needs to work on that.
Try going to Mexico, and ask for all the freebies Mexicans get from Uncle Sugar.
I still don’t know if the church is for or against health care for illegals. I am not of course. They just don’t belong here and I owe them nothing.
>> Melendez, a member of the Latino community
...but not a member of the church.
Just another wetback-loving “activist”.
Rot in hell, melendez, you satanic piece of sh!t.
“Warm and friendly” Doesn’t mean sucker. There are some things ch4istians shouldn’t do, and one of them is support illegal activities such as invaders from foreign countries. Minneapolis has been ruined by catholic and Lutheran churches sponsoring illegals . Especially Somalia.
No, Jessi, you're talking about leeches.
This billboard does not criticize anyone by race. Is Melendez in the US illegally? If not then he is not a target.
Either way his point is not valid. These saboteurs overlook the word “illegal” intentionally in order to divide us in the minds of the brainless and naturally resentful.
Jessi Melendez.
There he is. They out themselves.
And the church falls all over themselves to get back in line behind their true leader.
Be warm, kind, and welcoming all you want, but not to the other guy! Damn.
And straight up criminals. Robbers. Thieves.
and Jessi Melendez sides with them and sways his church to tolerate evil.
And they do.
““Warm and friendly” Doesn’t mean sucker.”
XD XD.
You can be warm and friendly with a drug addict.
But don’t do dope with him!
“lay hands on the sick”
And that’s fine and good. But pretty soon, these commies start laying their hands on my wallet while sobbing crocodile tears about how it’s my duty to lay my wallet on the sick and... wait, what?
That train is never late.
And boy is there lot of “sick” people these days, have to turn sideways to squeeze into the ER.
Naw, I think it was fine.
The people telling us to pull punches... those are the adversaries BTW.
Probably shouldn’t be taking their advice.
>Just another wetback-loving “activist<
The message is completely ambiguous. The church could easily be saying that free healthcare for illegals is a good thing. Apparently Jessi, the newly outed racist, thinks it’s a bad thing.
EC
The church (generic, all faiths) is welcome to provide healthcare, housing and other services to legal or illegal immigrants, domestic layabouts or any other demographic they choose. Just don’t take MY money to do it!
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