2 /5 Jasmine Williams: Was in Santa Cruz from out of town for Christmas and felt like visiting a church here since I was out of town! I didn’t notice the (seemingly given I was a guest) lack if diversity but it stuck out towards the end. Towards the end, the pastor made a few statements about a Nigerian pastor which were initially fine! The comments continued and eventually there came a sense of mockery.The congregation beginning to laugh at the Nigerian pastors former involvement in the Black Panthers which had no humor in my opinion. Finally, the straw on my back, was when recounting being blessed by the Nigerian pastor he made the remark that, “He was blessed by a Nigerian of ALL people.” Then, “even by a Nigerian from Legos…Lagos…LLL…However you pronounce it,” (Lagos is actually the largest city on the continent of Africa, mind you…) This somehow was humorous to the congregation for some reason. Needless to say, my family was offended by the mockery and we felt that it was very unfortunate. As Black guests, the pastor’s comments obviously made us feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of walking out which we never do or leave reviews. As someone who comes from generations of pastors, this wasn’t a godly experience and it was truly disheartening to say the least. Still, we hope that the pastor and congregants are able to grow beyond it! God bless.
