Church Still Facing Backlash over Ex-roc Pastor Invite
By Louis Llovio
Former ROC pastor Geronimo Aguilar said Thursday that he “decided it is best for all involved” for him to back out of the service. A decision by Geronimo Aguilar, a former pastor charged in Texas with sexual abuse of two young girls, to remove himself from a Good Friday program at a local church later this month has not satisfied critics of the church that invited him to speak. Cedar Street Baptist Church of God invited Aguilar, who could face up to life in prison if convicted, to speak at a Good Friday program called Rush Hour to Calvary. Critics are still incensed and chiding Cedar Street and its pastor, the Rev. Anthony M. Chandler, for inviting Aguilar to be on the bill in the first place. “The invitation of Geronimo Aguilar is simply disgusting and nothing but a selfish and self-serving ploy by the church to draw attention to itself and its Good Friday service,” said Hector Trevino, a local reverend and director of Canticle of Christ Ministry Pastoral Care at Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center. “As a minister, I am simply embarrassed for Pastor Anthony Chandler as should be all the members of his church.” Chandler did not respond to a request for comment. Aguilar said Thursday morning that he “decided it is best for all involved” for him to back out of the service. “I have spoken with Dr. Chandler, pastor of Cedar Street, and we both believe this is the best thing for all those concerned,” Aguilar wrote. “Good Friday is supposed to be about the love, grace and forgiveness that Jesus showed us on the cross, and we don’t want anything to take the focus off of that.” Two other pastors — Roscoe Cooper III of Rising Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tyrone Nelson of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church — backed out Wednesday when they learned Aguilar was scheduled to speak in the same program. Cooper said Thursday that he has decided not to participate even though Aguilar is off the bill. Nelson could not be reached for comment. Aguilar was arrested in May on charges that he abused an 11-year-old and her 13-year-old sister in the 1990s. He resigned in June from the Richmond Outreach Center, the Richmond megachurch he founded and of which he was senior pastor. He has been indicted in two cases — one for each of the sisters — on four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, three counts of sexual assault of a child under 17, and five counts of indecency with a child. The aggravated sexual assault charges are first-degree felonies that carry a maximum term of life in prison. The remaining charges are second-degree felonies with a maximum sentence of 20 years each. In Thursday’s email, Aguilar thanked “my dear friend Dr. Chandler, and the amazing people at Cedar Street for loving me as a brother in Christ.” “Hopefully,” he wrote, “when my legal issues are behind me and I am cleared of the charges, we won’t have these distractions any longer, and we can all get back to being one as the Lord commanded us to be.” Aguilar’s next court date is June 20. No trial date has been set. Contact: LLLovio@timesdispatch.com (804) 649-6348
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