Thursday, December 1, 2011

USA Africa Dialogue Series - Kentucky church votes to ban interracial couples

Kentucky church votes to ban interracial couples

Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church votes on resolution that says the
church 'does not condone interracial marriage'

Associated Press
Friday December 2 2011
guardian.co.uk


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/01/kentucky-church-bans-interracial-couples

A tiny church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples
from joining its congregation, pitting members against each other in
an argument over race.

Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Kentucky voted on
Sunday on the resolution, which says the church "does not condone
interracial marriage".

The church member who crafted the resolution, Melvin Thompson, said he
is not racist and called the matter an "internal affair".

"I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against
any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil about a
race," said Thompson, the church's former pastor who stepped down
earlier this year.

"That's what this is being portrayed as, but it is not."

Dean Harville, the church's secretary, disagreed - he said the
resolution came after his daughter visited the church this summer with
her boyfriend from Africa.

Stella Harville and Ticha Chikuni, now her fianc?, visited the church
in June and Chikuni sang a song for the congregation. The two had
visited the church before.

Harville said he was counting the church offering after a service in
August when he was approached by Thompson, who told him Harville's
daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the
church.

"If he's not racist, what is this?" Harville said.

The vote by members last Sunday was nine to six, Harville said. It was
taken after the service, which about 35 to 40 people attended.
Harville said many people left or declined to vote.

The resolution says anyone is welcome to attend services, but
interracial couples could not become members or be "used in worship
services or other church functions".

Stella Harville, a 24-year-old graduate student at Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology in Indiana, called the vote "hurtful".

"I think part of me is still in shock and trying to process what's
been going on the past few days," she said. "I really hope they
overturn this."

The church's pastor, Stacy Stepp, said on Wednesday he was against
the resolution. Stepp said the denomination's regional conference will
begin working on resolving the issue this weekend.

The National Association of Free Will Baptists in Tennessee has no
official position on interracial marriage for its 2,400 churches
worldwide, executive secretary Keith Burden said. The denomination
believes the Bible is inerrant and local churches have autonomy over
decision making.

"It's been a non-issue with us," Burden said, adding that many
interracial couples attend Free Will Baptist churches. He said the
Pike County church acted on its own. Burden said the association can
move to strip the local church of its affiliation with the national
denomination if it's not resolved.

"Hopefully it is corrected quickly," Burden said.

guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011

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