Several clergy members descended on Lowe's Mooresville, N.C., headquarters Tuesday morning, armed with the petition, and while the hourlong meeting with Lowe's executives was amicable, the company was unbowed by the request.
The contingency included the Rev. Russ Dean of Park Road Baptist Church, the Rev. Jay Leach of the Unitarian Universalist Church, and other representatives of the interfaith Mecklenburg Ministries, which is based in Charlotte, N.C.
Despite the failure to reach an agreement, Dean told the paper, "We respect their business decision."
Leach added that Lowe's agreement to meet at all was a sign of hope. "There's a way to engage in responsible dialogue, even when we think we have a deep disagreement," he said.
Lowe's decided last month to pull its advertising from the TLC series, which follows Muslim-American families in Dearborn, Mich. Though the company's decision was made amid a campaign against the series by the conservative group the Florida Family Association -- which urged Lowe's to yank its support -- Lowe's has adamantly denied that pressure from the FFA had anything to do with its choice.
