
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 2, 1993                   TAG: 9305030274
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: F-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

WELCOME MAT SHOULD BE OUT

I WAS CONCERNED when I heard about the elderly couple who could not vote for a pastor at Salem's Calvary Baptist Church because they had not been in church for eight months (April 7 story, "Charges dropped; church rift isn't").

It also angered me when I read that they were charged with trespassing. Even though the charges were dropped, I feel this should not have happened.

As a church member, I believe that everyone has a right to return to church, no matter how long they have been out, and that church is a place where people should always feel welcome. TONYA S. BLANKENSHIP TROUTVILLE

by CNB