Two days before their wedding, Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson were forced to change venues after Pastor Stan Weatherford told them that white church members were uncomfortable with a black couple getting married in his church – the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs.
Clearly, this is blatant racial discrimination. I’m disgusted; I find this absolutely shocking. What are your thoughts?
From time to time, you hear of a church more or less run by a powerful family. I had some familiarity with this while involved with a presbytery. Never did figure out the levers of power. One, which was losing the family power when I joined, had no idea. There was no notable extra money, no outsize participation in various committees.
However, they didn’t try to do anything objectionable except donate a hideous stained glass window.
You’d think the other folks would tell the buttheads to mind their own business.
I’d say find a new church, I wouldn’t want anything to do with an organisation that did something like that.
Of course it’s racist, and the church has every right be as racist and stupid as they choose.
Thankfully, the church’s participation is neither necessary nor particularly important when it comes to being married in the U.S.
It truly annoys me when blacks try to gain acceptance from whites. Why in God’s name would you want to be married at this church? It is stupid and reeks of “Please accept me” and “Please lik me. Please”. They still don’t like you and thankfully now we can finally retort without being killed, “Who cares?” So a private club doesn’t allow blacks? So. Open your own club. So a pageant doesn’t recognize black beauties? So. Finance a pageant. Oh, but then the white whiners complain of why do we need Black Universities, Black Pageants…. You can’t win. So why… Read more »
“Clearly, this is blatant racial discrimination. I’m disgusted; I find this absolutely shocking.” I absolutely agree. When I first saw the headline, I anticipated making the comment that this policy was stupid and bigoted but people have the right to be stupid and bigoted. If you don’t like the church’s teachings, go to another church, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. It seems that the couple already booked the wedding. The pastor was following their church’s teachings and backed away under pressure. It was the white people who objected and even the pastor himself, who didn’t follow… Read more »
I’m of two minds on this. Mind number one is shame on them. This is horrible, and I hate it. Mind number two is that they have not done anything illegal here. This is exactly the way I think things SHOULD work with marriage: The religious rite of marriage should be separate from the legal recognition of a pairing, and if a particular church doesn’t wish to marry two people (be it because they are gay, or black, or a mixed-race couple, or simply not of that church’s particular faith), that’s between them and whatever God they believe in. I… Read more »
OK, as I’ve read more about this, it seems to be less about the church and more about a small number of people who consider themselves empowered to speak for the church bullying the pastor into not performing the ceremony at the church.
So the idea of not performing the wedding on religious grounds goes out the window, and now it’s just a small number of bigots who don’t want ‘the wrong sort of people” in their neighborhood.
The couple are/were members of this church, and should have the same civil rights in its use as other members of the church. If the church has accepted their tithes then they have contributed to the support of the church and have every right as a member of the congregation.