Pastor Charles Worley was greeted with
a standing ovation as he approached the pulpit during Sunday service,
the Hickory
Daily Record reported.
About 100 overjoyed church members and
visitors praised Worley one week after his controversial anti-gay
sermon became public, drawing national attention and heavy criticism.
On Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13,
Worley, 71, who ministers at the Providence Road Baptist Church in
Maiden, North Carolina, told congregants that gay
men and women should be confined behind an electrified fence and
allowed to die off.
“I appreciate all the support,”
Worley said.
Without an apology, the preacher barely
touched on the controversy: “I've got a King James Bible. I've
been a preacher for 53 years. Do you think I'm going to bail out on
this?”
Referring to the Bible, he added,
“Everything I do, say, or preach, I believe in this book.”
Church member Angie Widener said of the
service: “He preaches from the Bible, and it's like that just about
every Sunday.”
Meanwhile, in nearby Newton, more
than 2,000 people from as far away as Arizona showed up to protest
Worley's anti-gay sermon. They were greeted by roughly 50
counter-protesters.