Black rector at white church: 'What we see are people of God, not color'

From Maryland-

Before the current rector took over at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the last time someone came from England to lead the congregation, Virginia was still a colony.

The Rev. Leonard “Lee” Gandiya may share a similar—and charming—British accent with those who helped organize the King George County parish that dates back to 1667. But there is one aspect of history that puts him and his predecessors on different sides.

Had Gandiya attended services in the days of George Washington, a visitor to St. Paul’s, Gandiya would have had to climb—not the white steps of the raised pulpit to stand against a backdrop of red velvet, but those leading to the stark balcony where slaves sat.

Gandiya is black, and he leads a congregation that’s white.

More here-

http://www.fredericksburg.com/features/black-rector-at-white-church-what-we-see-are-people/article_372f226f-f064-597d-a743-dbe24650099a.html