A black couple in Mississippi claims that a predominantly white church refused to marry them simply because they are black.
Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson were excited for their big day and went through all of the traditional steps to prepare for their upcoming nuptials.
As the date approached the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs said he couldn’t perform the ceremony at the church because various members of the predominantly white religious center didn’t want a black couple marrying inside their congregation.
While the couple are not members of the church they attend its services regularly.
Speaking to WLBT TV Pastor Stan Weatherford revealed that he was actually surprised by his congregations actions. According to Weatherford:
“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.”
This was definitely not the case of a hate filled preacher, Weatherford essentially told his members it was none of their business and instead wed the couple at another church . The pastor says of his decision:
“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.”
The church has not revealed the names of the members who opposed the wedding.
While the pastor made the right decision and ensured a happy day for the couple at least one person wasn’t pleased, Charles Wilson says of his wedding ordeal:
“I blame the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs, I blame those members who knew and call themselves Christians and didn’t stand up.”
Wilson says he believes the Pastor who was in a hard decision should have stood up to the church’s members. He went on to tell the USA Today:
“Prior to this, I had been telling people how nice they were here,” Wilson said. “It makes you re-evaluate things. We were doing everything right. We wanted to get married.”
If the Westboro Baptist Church is looking to recruit they may have the perfect location. I would hate to hear what members of the church think about gay people.