Georgetown church takes down insensitive sign

The pastor of a Georgetown church says a recent sign does not reflect its teachings, and it should not have been posted.

In June, a movable sign outside the Providence United Methodist Church south of Georgetown on Shortly Road read: “It's Adam and Eve not Steve.” It was signed “God.”

Charles Mead-e of Georgetown notified the Cape Gazette about the sign through a letter to the editor. “I have heard the story of my gay friend (who took the pictures) and what had happened to him through a 'Christian Church' as a teenager that has haunted him decades later. It is no wonder that he has rejected the Christian Faith,” he wrote.

Pastor Regina Reeves, who was installed as minister on July 1, said a member of the church put up the sign without approval or consent of the pastor. The sign was up for a week, but has since been taken down. Pastor Walter Reeves, Regina's husband, was pastor when the sign was posted but his removal had nothing to do with the sign, she said.

“The sign was a mistake and it's not what our church is about,” she said. “It's not the way we want our church portrayed.”

Reeves said she has met with congregants about posting signs and the need for approval before posting them. “We'll make sure signs like that don't happen again. It was a poor decision on one person's part,” she said.

The Rev. Dr. Kyung-Hee Sa, Peninsula-Delaware Conference of the United Methodist Church District superintendent, could not be reached for comment.

Providence United Methodist Church holds weekly services Sundays. The church is not open during the week; the congregation has 20 members, Reeves said.

The church has an historical marker placed on its site. According to Delaware Public Archives, the Maryland Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church established a Sussex County mission in 1865. At the time, local members of that faith were meeting nearby in the Rogers School. Services were held in the schoolhouse until 1886, when the present church was built on land that had been provided by Harrison Rogers. The building was moved to its present location in 1933, according to state archives.