Female Pastors in South Carolina Receive Threatening Letters
Authorities are reportedly investigating two threatening letters sent to female pastors in Charleston, South Carolina shortly after a mass shooting at an African American church that killed nine.
The letters, sent by someone calling himself the Prophet Henry L. Fleming, targeted the female pastors of three African American churches in the area, including the Greater Union Cypress AME church, Society Hill AME Church, and Reeseville AME Church.
Charleston authorities have reported that the letters mainly argue that female pastors should not be in charge of churches, but should rather be home and take care of their children. One of the letters states that "you and your children will die."
Another letter adds that "the woman cannot be head of the man in church, home and the world."
"Whoever wrote this letter has taken the time to find out who I am which means you may know my children, my grandchildren, and I have no clue who you are," Pastor Mary Rhodes of Society Hill AME Church told the local Live 5 News.
"A lot of people do not respect female pastors," Pastor Rhodes said. "Sexism in the church has been around for the longest time and it always gets, to my opinion, sort of hidden under the other issues that are there."
The threatening letters comes shortly after a gunman opened fire on a prayer group at Emanual African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, killing nine people.
More recently, a string of fires have broken out at several southern states in the past week, with three of them being attributed to arson.
