Things like this. Just Damn..SMH (Jackson, Gulfport: teaching jobs, neighborhood, schools)

[GrandviewGloria]

You would expect something other than left-leaning lies and distortions from Huffpoo?

Non-members should not expect to be able to get married in the fanciest church in town. People JOIN and CONTRIBUTE TO churches like that, and in return for years of involvement and expenditure, get to have their weddings and funerals there. To expect to be able to throw a wedding at a church like that, without even joining, is beyond absurd.

I remember an elderly lady driving us around Crystal Springs, when I was still in college. She pointed out the beautiful public high school... really a fine structure, equal in quality to most buildings on Ivy League college campuses, and the equally beautiful Magnolias on the grounds. These, as a young woman on the Beautification Committee, she had helped plant. The community had come together, donating money and labor, to make the High School one of the finest in the state. Bitterly, she then explained that her grandchildren had to go to private schools, because Kennedy or Johnson had forced "integration" (code for taking it away from one group, and giving it to another).

I suspect that soon, the people whose donations/contributions/tithes built First Baptist of Crystal Springs will have to find another place to go to church... because this edifice, like the High School, will have effectively been taken away from them.

[bornjacksonian]

Originally Posted by GrandviewGloria

You would expect something other than left-leaning lies and distortions from Huffpoo?

Non-members should not expect to be able to get married in the fanciest church in town. People JOIN and CONTRIBUTE TO churches like that, and in return for years of involvement and expenditure, get to have their weddings and funerals there. To expect to be able to throw a wedding at a church like that, without even joining, is beyond absurd.

I remember an elderly lady driving us around Crystal Springs, when I was still in college. She pointed out the beautiful public high school... really a fine structure, equal in quality to most buildings on Ivy League college campuses, and the equally beautiful Magnolias on the grounds. These, as a young woman on the Beautification Committee, she had helped plant. The community had come together, donating money and labor, to make the High School one of the finest in the state. Bitterly, she then explained that her grandchildren had to go to private schools, because Kennedy or Johnson had forced "integration" (code for taking it away from one group, and giving it to another).

I suspect that soon, the people whose donations/contributions/tithes built First Baptist of Crystal Springs will have to find another place to go to church... because this edifice, like the High School, will have effectively been taken away from them.

Know your facts before you speak from Oregon. The groom had been attending the church for about a month and his wife had been attending for more than a year. His wife's father also attended the church, and her uncle was custodian at the church. The Pastor had already approved this wedding. Some church "insiders" five or six members went to the Pastor after seeing the couple's wedding rehearsal the Thursday night before their Saturday wedding. Even the Pastor was shocked but didn't have the Moderator cut: language removed to stand up to a few big shots of the church.

[Caltovegas]

WWJD? Are not all people children of GOD?

[ChristTheKing]

That's pretty pathetic. If I was the pastor (and I don't know all of the details), but if I would have heard certain members upset about a black couple getting married in the church, I would have called them out. I would have delivered my normal Sunday message and then would have drew attention to this situation and encouraged anyone having a problem to talk to me personally.

The following week I would have given an update to the congregation. If those 5-6 members were public about their objection then I would have given them a message about God loving all of his children. If they would still object, I would have no problem kicking all of them out of the church.

Hate is not a part of Christianity. Yes we hate sin and we should be vocal about it. But there is nothing here that warranted this wedding not to be delivered at the church. The pastor handled this completely wrong and I question his ability to lead any congregation.

[An Einnseanair]

Wow... the harshness in this thread is intense.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wanderlust

Blacks, Evan. That one special, obvious reason is almost always blacks, Evan

I completely disagree... the one special, obvious reason is almost always ignorance, with maybe a little fear and intolerance thrown in. While it's possible that all the blacks Mr. Wanderlust knows are just as racist as he is, that does not mean that ALL blacks are just as racist as he is.

Back on topic...

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The beauty of the First Amendment is that the church has the right to do whatever it wants, as long as it doesn't infringe on the basic rights of any human (or animal). If the church doesn't want a couple of black folk (and all their black kin) to dirty up their floors, then that's the church's right. Doesn't mean the congregation isn't composed of a bunch of concrete-minded bigots, but it's their constitutional right to be concrete-minded bigots.

And I understand the Pastor's predicament. When I was a child (many decades ago) my church had a split. The majority of the congregation decided that the pastor wasn't "conservative" enough, so they threw him out. About 40% of the congregation followed him. The original church hired a new pastor who was as racist as they come and subscribed to various white-supremacy magazines. I understand that the pastor in Crystal Springs had to make quick decisions based on the information he had available to him at the time, and he choose to protect the church as a whole instead of the couple wanting to get married.


UPDATE:
What I said above stands, but there's more to this story. Unfortunately, I can't seem to watch the video at work, so I did more research. Here's the original story from WLBT Channel 3, which contains pertinent information that was omitted by the HuffPo story. For example, the pastor DID marry the couple on that day, but it was at a different church. Sounds like the pastor went above-and-beyond to work with the couple after a few bigots in his congregation showed their true selves:
Black wedding banned by Baptist church - WLBT.com - Jackson, MS

Also, a follow-up story, with opinions from other church members:
Crystal Springs church members respond to wedding controversy - WLBT.com - Jackson, MS

Many of the people we spoke with us, such as Bob and Barbara Mack, say they've attended the church for years. They say most members didn't know about the situation until they heard it on the news. Many say they were shocked and the small unnamed group doesn't represent the feelings of most who attend First Baptist Church.

The "small unnamed group" consists of the ones who bullied the pastor into not holding the ceremony at the church. This simply proves, yet again, that while racism definitely exists in Mississippi (and everywhere else in the world - just read posts by Mr. Wanderlust), it's the loud and disgusting actions of the few that gets the attention. This story is spreading all over the internet, but all people see is the headline, "Mississippi Church Bans Black Wedding". They don't see the truth, which appears to be, "A Few Bigoted Church Members Gives an Otherwise Respected Church a Black Eye." (pun intended)

[Kingsley]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wanderlust

Before a few people here fall all over themselves in an attempt to make themselves look good. Black churches, I'm certain, will do the exact same thing all over this country and nobody bats an eye. Believe it or not, not all people want an enforced and artificial togetherness with people whom they have little to nothing in common. There are still younger white people who aren't on the verge of 'dying out' who have simply no interest in knowing black people as close friends, etc; the opposite is also frequently true {GASP!} If you believe otherwise then you aren't grounded in reality--Jackson Panther--. There is no hostility or harm in that attitude.

Live in other parts of the U.S. that don't have the 'dreaded' history of the deep South and it's still not quite the sweet rainbow of races that some may think.

I can't stand people who pander and/or grovel to people that have an agenda like the OP. Get over it.

"Avoid it and Sweep it under the when it's too painful to deal with reality"

[Caltovegas]

I fail to see what MY (OP) agenda is. I have different "races" in my immediate family, yes even White. Something I have noticed is when people die the people from a physical perspective stay in the ground and decay. So in the spiritual world it would seem race may not be an issue. Race seems to be an issue with people who think they can speak or think for GOD. What parent wants their children divided?

No I'm not a preacher. I just think people in general think they actually know things when in the big picture man has no clue. Stand on the moon and expain the earth..

[ChristTheKing]

Regardless if a black church would have done the same thing is irrelvant. This is just another reason for people to hate Christians- as if there isn't enough of misguided reasons to do that already. This is not the way the church operates and it's an embarrassing situation, and I would like to apologize on behalf of the church for how it was handled. I hope that couple can forgive that church for some who had hateful attitudes.

While the pastor did the right thing in marrying the couple, he failed to exhibit Christ like behavior in not marrying them in his church. I'm not completely blaming him, but I think most pastors would be wise enough to make the right decision and marry them in his church.

If he loses his job, he's a hero to many and churches would be lining up to hire him.

[GrandviewGloria]

I see three primary themes in this story. First, there's the conflict between ideology and reality (and between ideologues and realists). Then, there's the role of Church as Traitor, working against the very people who built and sustain it. Finally, there are the deliberate lies, distortions, and omissions of Mainstream Media in constructing this story, supporting the usual anti-white/anti-Protestant agenda.

[ChristTheKing]

Originally Posted by GrandviewGloria

I see three primary themes in this story. First, there's the conflict between ideology and reality (and between ideologues and realists). Then, there's the role of Church as Traitor, working against the very people who built and sustain it. Finally, there are the deliberate lies, distortions, and omissions of Mainstream Media in constructing this story, supporting the usual anti-white/anti-Protestant agenda.

I'm a white Protestant and while I agree the liberal media and liberals in general are a major problem in this country, can you elabrote a little more on your point?