A black couple in
Charles and
Te'Andrea Wilson told WLBT that the day before they were to be married, the
pastor of First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs informed them the ceremony
would have to be moved due to the reaction of some white church members - even
though the couple had attended the church regularly.
"The church
congregation had decided no blacks could be married at that church, and that if
[the pastor] went on to marry her, then they would vote him out [of] the
church," Charles Wilson explained.
"He had people in
the sanctuary that were pitching a fit about us being a black couple," Te'Andrea
Wilson added. "I didn't like it at all, because I wasn't brought up to be
racist. I was brought up to love and care for everybody."
Dr. Stan
Weatherford, the church's pastor, was forced to perform the marriage at another
church after he was taken by surprise by his congregation's outrage.
"This had never been
done before here, so it was setting a new precedent, and there are those who
reacted to that because of that," Weatherford said. "I didn't want to have a
controversy within the church, and I didn't want a controversy to affect the
wedding of Charles and Te'Andrea. I wanted to make sure their wedding day was a
special day."
Church officials
said they would hold meetings to decide what to do if another non-white couple
wanted to use their facility in the future. They insisted that all races were
welcome at the church.
"I blame the First
Baptist Church of Crystal Springs, I blame those members who knew and call
themselves Christians and didn't stand up," Charles Wilson said.
Last year, a small
church in
A resolution passed
by members of the congregation stated that "
"Parties of such
marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship
services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals," the
resolution said.
After a firestorm of
criticism and public pressure, the church eventually dropped the interracial
ban. Raw Story
AN/SM