RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Geronimo Aguilar, also known as Pastor G, has cancelled his Good Friday preaching appearance scheduled to take place at Cedar Street Baptist Church in Richmond.
Aguilar, who once lead the Richmond Outreach Center (ROC), currently faces child sex charges in Texas. Other pastors scheduled to preach at the church cancelled their appearances after they learned of Aguilar’s involvement.
“I have decided it is best for all involved that I step down from participating in the event,” Aguilar said in an emailed statement. “Good Friday’s is supposed to be about the love, grace, and forgiveness that Jesus showed us on the cross, and we don’t want anything to take the focus off of that.”
Watch Mark Holmberg’s report on the situation from April 2, 2014
Aguilar went on to thank those who showed their support for him over the past few days.
"Hopefully when my legal issues are behind me and I am cleared of the charges, we won’t have these distractions any longer, and we can all get back to being one as the Lord commanded us to be,” he said.
Cedar Street Baptist Church of God Pastor Dr. Anthony Chandler said he respected the decision of both Aguilar and other other pastors who withdrew from the event.
“I planned the service again this year because I thought it was significant to remind the Richmond community that this was why Christ died. If we were all perfect, Christ would not have had to die," Dr. Anthony Chandler said in a statement. "Calvary is about redemption for those who have made mistakes. Pastor G and I agree that the focus of the Good Friday service should be on Christ and not man."
This is a developing story.
