On the website of a Pentecostal church in Catonsville, potential congregants are welcomed with a blessing and a hope that they will explore "all the wonderful ministries our church has to offer."
"We would love to meet you and your family and share God's love with you," the site says.
But when a 43-year-old woman asked the church's bishop in February for advice on handling some family problems, he sexually assaulted her, according to police.
The bishop, Roan Samuel Faulkner Sr., 62, was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree and fourth-degree sex offenses, attempted second-degree rape and perverted practice. He was released from the Baltimore County Detention Center after posting bail.
A Baltimore County police spokesman said that the woman, who had attended services at New Life Pentecostal Ministries for several years, had been having difficulties with relatives and that Faulkner met with her Feb. 21 to "spiritually advise her."
When the meeting was over, the woman left in her car but called Faulkner on her cell phone a few minutes later to ask him why he appeared to be following her, according to the police spokesman, Cpl. Michael Hill. The bishop replied that he "really needed" to talk with her more. They returned to her office in the 5400 block of Baltimore National Pike in Catonsville, where Faulkner "grabbed her, sexually assaulted her and attempted to rape her," Hill said. He also forced her to perform a sexual act, according to a statement from the Police Department.
The woman did not promptly report the incident because "she has been so distressed about it," Hill said. "She wasn't sure who to tell or what to do." Finally, after suffering what Hill called psychological problems stemming from the encounter, the woman called police this past Saturday.
Hill expressed concern that there might have been other victims "because of Faulkner's position" with the church, which is located at 200 Melvin Ave.
Attempts to reach Faulkner and his wife — whom he refers to on his Web site as Queen Esther — were unsuccessful Thursday. They have three children.
Faulkner was born in Jamaica in 1947 and moved to Baltimore in 1969, according to his website. In 1988 he was appointed pastor of the Capitol Hill United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic) in Washington. Two years later, he became overseer of the church's National Men's Department. "While serving in this capacity he rendered outstanding, faithful and dedicated service," his website says.
In 1992, Faulkner was appointed pastor of Columbia Apostolic Church, which held services at Talbott Springs Elementary School in the Village of Oakland Mills. The church's name was later changed to New Life Pentecostal Ministries. In 1996, Faulkner was consecrated as a bishop.
A March 1996 profile of Faulkner in The Baltimore Sun described his radio ministry, which drew listeners from throughout the Baltimore area, and recounted a call from a woman who was concerned about her 16-year-old daughter, a runaway.
"Lord, touch her mind and touch her heart right now," the minister told his audience at the time. "I pray you work a miracle and let her return home."
Faulkner told the newspaper that in the three years he had been broadcasting, listeners were "delivered" from cigarette smoking, depression and other problems. "Prayer is a powerful weapon," he said. "Prayer has changed my life."