"White greeters only" was the message sent by Freedom House Church's executive pastor to the congregation in Charlotte, North Carolina this weekend. The email sent to church volunteers said that leaders expected an increased number of visitors in the coming weeks, and that since "first impressions matter," the church wants "the best of the best on the front doors." The Freedom House Church has since apologized for the email.

The Freedom House Church's executive pastor of operations, Makeda Pennycooke, who is African-American, asked that "only white people" greet worshippers at church services, The Inquisitr reports.

Carmen Thomas, a member at Freedom House for two years, was appalled, UPI reports.

"I was floored," she said. "Like it was a jaw dropper. You can put a white face all over the front door. But when you come through those doors, you're going to see African Americans, you're gonna see Asians. You're going to see people of color."

Thomas told the news station she believed Pennycooke was attempting to attract white worshipers, The Huffington Post reports.

"We are continuing to work to bring our racial demographic pendulum back to mid-line," Pennycooke continued in the email. "So we would like to ask that only white people be on the front doors."

WBTV, the local news station in Charlotte, received the email from an outraged church member.

Following the email, the Freedom House Church apologized for the incident.

This is the initial statement the church sent to WBTV: "The email was sent by one of our long-time pastors in an attempt to emphasize that our greeting team reflect the racial diversity of our entire congregation. However, she admitted it was a mistake to over-emphasize any specific group and sent an apology email within 24 hours of the original email going out."