A church whose guidelines prohibited overweight people from leading worship issued an apology for the “misinterpreted” information circulating around the web.
“There has been some false media circulating about our Worship Team Guidelines claiming that we don’t allow overweight people on our platform, which is untrue,” New Creation Church said in a statement.
Charisma News reached out to New Creation Church after the news first broke, but never received a response.
According to New Creation Church’s guidelines, “Weight is something that many people have to deal with. Make sure that you are taking care of your temple, exercising and eating properly.”
Pastor Rebecca Sundholm tells Oregon Live the guidelines are several years old and no longer enforced, but the document maintains a 2014 copyright stamp.
“What’s funny is this has nothing to do with anybody else but our church,” Sundholm said. “If anybody looked at our worship team, they would see they aren’t all skinny.”
Other guidelines for the New Creation Church in Hillsboro, Orgeon, music ministry include:
- Hair must be washed, nicely groomed and kept neat and clean; no sloppy hairdos or excessively wild styles that draw undue attention.
- No excessive piercings or visible tattoos.
- Ladies, put your make-up on before you get to church.
- If wearing a skirt, nylons are suggested. No tight shirts, low cut shirts or tummies showing. All skirts must be below the knee.
- No excessive colognes or perfumes.
- Bodies must be clean and use of effective deodorant is essential to positive interpersonal relationships.
- Remember also that breath mints are available in the bookstore. Please use them! No gum during services.
“We apologize for any misunderstandings that our guidelines have caused. These guidelines have never been used to discriminate against or fat-shame anyone. We understand the wording on our guidelines have been misinterpreted, thus they are being reviewed and changed. Forgive us if we offended anyone. That certainly was not our intention. Our church is a church full of love and compassion for others. We are a diverse church with all ages, races and sizes and love people with the love of Jesus,” the statement concluded.
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