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A Michigan pastor who ignited outrage after appearing to question a church member's donation amount has spoken out. In a viral video taken from Perfection Church's livestream, Roberta McCoy approached Bishop Marvin Winans at the front of their Detroit church and announced her pledge. 'I, Roberta McCoy, give in faith and stand in unity with Perfecting Church of sowing this seed of $1,000 plus $235,' she said standing next to her young son on Sunday morning. She continued that she was 'receiving the blessings that come to all who participate.' The moment of generosity appeared to take a turn when Bishop Winans responded, 'That's only $1,200. Y'all not listening to what I'm saying. If you have a thousand plus a thousand.' When McCoy said she would work on the other $800 that seemed to be required of each church member, Bishop Winans replied: 'That ain't what I asked you to do.' The rest of the church responded with cheers and applause of acknowledgement, but footage of the moment quickly drew criticism online. But Winans has since clarified that it wasn't the dollar amount he he took issue with, as the footage suggested. Mccoy's donation was part of a fundraising service, during which he asked the congregation to donate $1,000 of their own money and raise $1,000 in funds to help complete the church's new sanctuary, according to WXYZ Detroit. Prior to the viral clip, Winans asked congregation members who had raised $2,000 or more to come to the front and share their donations first. Then, he reportedly welcomed the rest of the church, whose offerings were as little as $1.62. McCoy said that Bishop Winans personally apologized to her about the incident. She has been a member of the church since 2013 and plans to continue giving. She defended the Bishop and said that he was simply correcting her for coming to give before it was her turn. 'He absolutely did not rebuke me,' she said. Viewers on Reddit were quick to ridicule the Bishop's words after the livestream was clipped to the social media site. People sided with McCoy, saying he humiliated and even 'rebuked' her in front of the rest of the church. 'Martin Luther must be turning in his grave,' wrote one viewer. 'This kind of thing is exactly what sparked the Reformation in the first place; priests publicly shaming people over money and treating faith like a business. 'Back then it was the selling of indulgences; now it’s “fundraisers.” Some lessons clearly weren’t learned.' 'This Pastor/Bishop does not belong in a leadership position in the church,' said another. 'He should resign and make a public apology to the woman and her son. He needs to repent.' 'Truly disgusting behavior by that "bishop",' added a third. According to The Independent, in 2023 the church was sued by the city of Detroit for a construction project that the city alleged had become a 'public nuisance.' The city eventually dropped the lawsuit after reaching a deal with the church. The Detroit Free Press, reported that in 2018 a church housekeeper claimed that she was told she had to donate all of her money for gifts for her supervisors. She also alleged that she had to tithe 10 percent of her income and was fired when she refused. According to Perfection Church's website, Winans is also a member of The Winans, an 80s and 90s gospel group which won five Grammy awards. The Daily Mail reached out to Perfection Church for comment.
