FRANKFORT, Ky. — Recently in Frankfort, letters were posted on several church doors across downtown that raised security concerns for faith communities. 

Father Peter Doddema is a priest with the Church of the Ascension in downtown Frankfort, a historical Episcopal Church he says is a diverse community of young and older folks. Doddema, along with other churches like First Baptist Church on Clinton Street, were concerned about a letter titled “The Peasant's Manifesto” that was found taped to the doors of houses of worship around town. 

Father Peter Doddema with Church of the Ascension shared a service with First Baptist Church on Clinton Street to support the congregation after an alarming letter was posted on the doors of area churches. (Spectrum News 1/Sabriel Metcalf)

“We work a lot through the ministerial association and we also work through a group here in town called Focus on Race Relations,” Doddema explained. “That’s headed up by Miss Christie Poe. That’s where I heard about the situation of at First Baptist.”

The letter outlined 12 principles written by an individual named “J. Rucker,” and it references poverty, mental health, education and religious factors. 

Certain language in parts of the letter led church leaders like Tiangello Hill, interim pastor at First Baptist Church to review their safety and procedures.

“Contingent upon the verbiage of the letter. Our initial response to it was that it was a threat. And so that’s the way you would perceive it, not knowing that the individual who wrote the letter was writing this letter, if you will, as a defense and a stance of what they believe,” Hill said.

Frankfort Police were soon involved with the matter.

“It was context, and it was perception. And so, whenever you have those two things out of sync, you know, you leave interpretation open to be rightfully interpreted or wrongly interpreted,” Hill said.

Doddema says it was unexpected, but resolved quickly after sitting down with city officials and receiving an apology letter from the author.

“The police chief took it seriously. And then gathered all of the downtown ministers together and said, “I want to listen. I want to hear what your concerns are and I want to address them so that you feel safe,’” he said.

The experience also led him and his congregation to share a service with the historically Black church last Sunday, hoping to support one another. 

The Frankfort Police Department released statements on their Facebook saying they’ve investigated the situation, spoke to the author and found no intended threat on the author’s behalf.