BARRINGTON, IL—When Dave Charles joined Hope Fellowship Church in Barrington, Illinois, he did so because the Bible teaching was sound and the congregation was welcoming and friendly. However, he soon observed a strange quirk in his church experience, namely, that every time the church photographer took pictures of a church event or of the morning service, Charles almost always found himself in the shot.
“It’s weird. There are three hundred people in the church, but it feels like he’s just taking pictures of me,” said Charles.
The single, 28-year-old IT professional also just so happens to be the only non-white member of the suburban church.
“The photographer actually started inviting me to all kinds of stuff,” said Charles. “A women’s luncheon, kindergarten awards ceremony, events and groups that I’m not even a part of. I guess he just wants to get people involved, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one getting singled out.”
When asked about the inclusion of Charles in the photoshoots, photographer Geoffery Dylan said it had nothing to do with the man’s ethnicity. “Oh, I hadn’t even noticed he was a different race. We don’t see color here, we just see men and women made in God’s image. But now that you mention it, having him in the picture does highlight the diversity of the congregation. That’s a big deal for us.”
Mr. Charles has also reportedly been invited to join the worship team despite not having any musical ability whatsoever.
Readers of the Bee,
If just a small fraction of our visitors became subscribers, we’d have enough funding to stop running ads and reduce our dependence on big tech companies like Facebook and Google. Will you partner with us to make this possible?
Comments are closed.