buzzz worthy. . .
By Mona Austin
While
Gay Rights groups are fighting for marriage equality, a heterosexual Mississippi
couple has faced discrimination straight from the pages of pre-Civil Rights era
history books. In this case, it’s not a
question of their right to marry, but of where Mississippi newly weds Charles
and Te’Andrea Wilson were to tie the knot, and of all places a church.
A Baptist church in Jackson, refused
to marry the couple because they are Black.
Although they were not members of the
predominantly White congregation, Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson regularly
attended the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs and planned to state their
vows where they worshipped.
But when a handful of members saw the
wedding rehearsal they communicated their disapproval to Pastor Stan Weatherford and threatened to vote
him out if he did not cooperate with their demands. Pastor Weatherford obliged. This decision
forced the couple to change venues at the last minute.
Weatherford said he thought he was
creating a “win-win” solution by presiding over the wedding at a neighboring
church and granting his parishioners their wishes, who he said did not want to
set a precedent of marrying Blacks.
"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," Weatherford expressed to NBC affiliate WLBT.
In an interview the Wilson’s said they
were “crushed and devastated.”
The groom was disappointed in the
entire church for allowing their wedding to be banned.
"I blame the First Baptist Church
of Crystal Springs, I blame those members who knew and call themselves
Christians and didn't stand up," said Charles Wilson.
Church officials say all races are
welcome in their church and are now discussing ways of preventing this from
happening in the future.