CHARLOTTE (NC)
The Roys Report [Chicago IL]
September 8, 2025
By Sheila Stogsdill
The First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, North Carolina has dismissed its senior pastor after an investigation showed a five-year history of committing adultery, then trying to cover it up.
The Christian Post reported that Pendleton Barnes Peery, a sixth-generation Presbyterian minister, was recently dismissed as senior pastor for breaking his marriage and ordination vows.
According to WCCB-TV, an independent Charlotte station, Peery admitted to breaking his marriage vows in a letter to the congregation.
A church investigative committee reported Peery faces two charges of adultery and two charges of wrongful concealment of inappropriate conduct, WCCB reported.
The Christian Post said that the Charlotte Presbytery was tipped off to Peery’s behavior by an informant. It then conducted an investigation without the knowledge of First Presbyterian leaders.
First Presbyterian has sent an email to its congregants saying the investigation found Peery had “inappropriate online behavior and extramarital affairs,” the Charlotte Observer reported.
The newspaper reported that the church said Peery had been engaged in moral wrongdoing for five years, and the wrongdoing did not involve church members or children.
In a letter to the church published by The Charlotte Observer, Peery said, “What started as a curiosity turned into a secret life hidden from the family who loved me and from you.”
The letter continues, what began as a “destructive pattern of anonymous but inappropriate activity online, ultimately leading to multiple instances of consensual physical infidelity.”
Peery said he was ashamed, acknowledged those he had hurt, and quoted Psalm 51, which refers to needing “God’s mercy.”
Peery’s name has been scrubbed from the First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte’s website, but a library of his sermons remains there.
The church posted a statement, saying, “With support and guidance from the Presbytery of Charlotte, First Presbyterian Church, its leaders, and congregation are navigating this time prayerfully, with care and transparency. The church will continue all regularly scheduled worship services and ministries. For church members in need of pastoral support, please contact Rev. Anna Dickson. We ask that you keep our community in your prayers as we cope with recent news.”
“It has been a real difficult week around here; there is no way around that. As news of Pen’s departure broke this week, so too did a full range of emotions,” Dickson said during her Sept. 7 sermon.
Dickson said she received hundreds of messages from congregation members praying for those hurt by Peery’s departure.
On its website, First Presbyterian describes itself as “an inclusive, urban city church in the center of Uptown Charlotte,” with a “large congregation of 2,000 members” that offers many opportunities to connect.
Peery has been removed from the ministry for at least three years, WCCB reported.