Rev. Wright appearance canceled

Rev. Earl B. Mason Sr. addresses the press from the sanctuary of Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace. [John Pendygraft, Times]

TEMPLE TERRACE -- Appearances this week by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. at the Bible-Based Fellowship Church of Temple Terrace have been canceled, the church's pastor said today.

The Rev. Earl Mason cited security concerns and said the three-night revival featuring Wright was turning into an "event" and media circus, rather than the celebration of the church's 10th anniversary that it was intended to be, so Mason asked him to stay in Chicago.

Wright, the former pastor of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, has drawn national attention in recent weeks over inflammatory remarks he made from the pulpit, which Obama has disavowed. This week's revival was to have been his first public appearance since the controversy erupted.

At a news conference this afternoon, Mason said part of the reason for the cancellation was that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, which had agreed to provide extra security for the event, notified him Monday it would no longer do so. He said he was waiting on a call from Sheriff David Gee to explain why.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter disputed Mason's account. She said the church asked the Sheriff's Office for help Monday, but an off-duty employment officer told the church that it fell within Tampa police jurisdiction. The officer referred the church to Tampa police.

Knowing the magnitude of the event, Sheriff's Chief Deputy Jose Docobo called Tampa police Monday and asked if the Sheriff's office could assist with off-duty security. When he didn't get a response, he called again today, Carter said.

"We were assured that it was not needed and that it was taken care of," she said.

In a statement issued today, Tampa police said the department was prepared for Wright's visit.

"TPD officers accessed the location, gathered intelligence on the event and put a plan into place," the statement said.

TPD had patrol and plain clothes officers ready and had additional officers on standby in case of threats.

"We recommended the organizers hire extra duty officers to handle parking issues and they complied," the statement said. "The Tampa Police Department was prepared to handle Reverend Wright's visit from the time he landed at Tampa International Airport, through the event and until his departure from our city. We were surprised to hear of the cancellation."

At the church's news conference, Mason thanked the city of Tampa for being willing to provide police officers to provide security at the revival.

The revival has been canceled but Wednesday night's regular bible study service will take place, Mason said.

Wright has longstanding ties to two Hillsborough County churches. He has made regular appearances at both the Temple Terrace church and Carrollwood's Bible-Based Fellowship Church because of longtime friendships with their pastors. The churches are independent of each other.

Robbyn Mitchell and Justin George, Times staff writers