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    Ky church overturns ban on interracial couples

    PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An eastern Kentucky church under a firestorm of criticism since members voted to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation overturned that decision Sunday, saying it welcomes all believers.

    Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.

    Stepp said about 30 people who attended church services voted on a new resolution that welcomes "believers into our fellowship regardless of race, creed or color."

    The issue came up at the tiny all-white Appalachian church after the daughter of church secretary Dean Harville visited over the summer with her boyfriend, who is from Africa, and the two sang for the congregation.

    Harville said he was approached in August by Melvin Thompson, the church member who crafted the resolution to bar mixed-race couples, and was told that his daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.

    Thompson has said he is not racist and called the matter an "internal affair."

    Stepp said the Sandy Valley Conference of Free Will Baptists declared the vote on Thompson's resolution null and void during a meeting on Saturday.

    He said he told church members on Sunday about the decision and proposed a resolution to promote "peace, love and harmony."

    He said the resolution to welcome all believers passed with a unanimous vote.

     

    2,199 comments

    • stupid republican  •  5 mths ago
      Hmmm. How can one be a Christian and a Racist at the same time??? They cannot.
      • critic 5 mths ago
        They go hand in had. Didn't you know that?
      • Cindy 5 mths ago
        Depends on how you define Christianity...plenty of Christian haters out there....their religion is based on it....they just haven't mastered the car bomb yet or they could give muslim extremists a run for their money.
      • TIMOTHY 5 mths ago
        Christians had their day, remember the Crusades? How bout the American Indians? Celts? Etc...The Christians have always destroyed the pagans. Muslims are just taking their turn.
        It's the way of religion.
    • Tim  •  5 mths ago
      Who would Jesus ban?
    • kerry  •  Irvine, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Why would any interracial couple want to go to that church to worship, knowing how they really feel....I believe the only reason the church changed its mind is bacause of the backlash that it has
      received since making the decision not because it truly welcomes intrracial couples.
      • peaceluvr 5 mths ago
        I believe that sometimes God will put things in people's faces to make them confront the evil things in their hearts! I just pray that at least some of them have a complete change of heart...even if only one...the angels in heaven will rejoice!
      • Nam Vet 4 Peace 5 mths ago
        The best way to get an American to do something...Is to tell us we CANT!
      • Nam Vet 4 Peace 5 mths ago
        Pub base needs to catch up to the 20th century...One century at a time!...By 2050 they may be ready for the 21st century...Truth be told!
    • puddin  •  Louisville, United States  •  5 mths ago
      My father a Black man, was an honest, hard-working man until he was diagnosed with cancer. He shined shoes at a barber-shop after we moved from Chicago to Louisville and when he died the White men who worked in the shop took up a collection and brought it to my mother. My father hadn't worked in that shop for nearly 10 yrs. When the White man gave my mother the envelope he had tears in his eyes and told my mom how much they loved my dad. To say that White and Black ppl should not have relationships be it friendship or intimate is inhumane and whoever feels that way does not have God in their heart. God does not condone hatred of any kind...the devil promotes hatred and God is fighting the battle to erase it from the hearts of those who WANT to hate. May God have mercy on your soul when he comes to claim what he created.
      • Ben 5 mths ago
        Thank you for taking time to share
      • John 5 mths ago
        You have been brainwashed to believe so many lies. Come into the 21 century and embrace science and reject religion and superstition.
      • Uncle Fungus 5 mths ago
        @John, give the anti-religion rhetoric a rest. When all scientists are completely honest and working for the best interest of humanity maybe I'll revisit your proposed 21st century religious system.
    • WilliamS  •  Everett, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Well, the God that I worship says, "Come unto me ALL you who are weary and heavy-laden . . " Not one word about race.
      • s 5 mths ago
        most people who claim to be christian handle it under their own pretext and selfish thoughts. Not by what the bible may say.
      • Ron.A 5 mths ago
        "God so loved THE WORLD that He gave his Only Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish..."

        "Look unto me ALL YE ENDS OF THE EARTH and be saved..." (Isaiah.45:22)
        You would hope these people read the Bible for once!
      • Martin, The Elder 5 mths ago
        With all the racism spewed out, can anyone explain why we all die, black, white, yellow, brown, red - WE ALL DIE, and our bodies go back to the dust! If you are superior to me, LIVE FOREVER, and prove it!!!
    • Trent  •  Earth, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Now that you all know what total pieces of garbage we are, we changed our minds and now we welcome everyone, though I can't imagine an interracial couple now wanting to join up...
    • Blue Devil 88  •  5 mths ago
      The folks that voted for this are the first to proclaim themselves Christian but the last to believe in Christ's idea of social justice. Wrapping themselves in the flag and the cross. Hypocrites!
    • Brian  •  Murfreesboro, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Psssssst. You're still racist. I won't tell anybody else though.
    • Kenny-Lives  •  5 mths ago
      He talked 9 couples into voting to keep it an all white church.
      The only reason they have changed course is because the news got out and people said something.
      They are still racist. The ones that supported the original vote.
    • The_Donger  •  5 mths ago
      Why did the vote come up in the first place? its 2011 For Pete's Sake.
    • MarionT  •  Columbus, United States  •  5 mths ago
      These people were forced to do the right thing. Their beliefs and politics remain the same. I'm sure they were just trying to avoid law suits.
    • embarrassed  •  Seattle, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Yeah, they change their decision after being hated by the entire country...not because they actually think they were wrong.
    • Kim  •  5 mths ago
      Not every white person is a racist just like not every black person is ghetto thug. There are crappy people of all races and to say that someone is a certain way just because of their race is extremely ignorant and narrow minded. One of the great things about America is there is a place for all of us no matter what our background or personal views. I wouldn't want to go to a church that banned mixes race couples or anyone due to their race so it's a good thing there are so many churches that welcome everyone.
    • Doug  •  Doylestown, United States  •  5 mths ago
      Thare is no Bible reason for this so called pastor to take that stand, Take a good look
      at who JESUS is.What he Taught. All Christians need to examine ourselves! Jesus
      did not tell us to hate Blacks, Homasexuals or anyone. Although the Old Testement
      is important to us, where it says some one should be put to death we should think about
      what Jesus taught. You need to understand the differences. These narrow minded pastors
      needed to get educated on the Bible. No wonder the world thinks Christians are crazy.
      Christians should be full of LOVE. NO hate. God is our Judge and only God. Christians
      Don't kill anyone.
    • Father of Five  •  Greensboro, United States  •  5 mths ago
      What about being against biblical codes of ethics? When we disparage one member of the human family we demean us all, and therefore we demean the creator, in Whose image we have all been created. Shame on them, and good for the pastor!
    • MB  •  Jacksonville, United States  •  5 mths ago
      You want to make a bet that the only reason the "pastor" over-ruled this was because he got word that the church would lose its tax-exempt status if it allowed the rule to stand!
    • gerald  •  5 mths ago
      I wonder if defiant and iceman are related?
    • Psalm 58  •  5 mths ago
      The Pastor would be better served to declare that such a policy would be in opposition to the word of GOD and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
      Find me anything in the Bible where God declares skin pigment to be of any importance to the human race?
      Many people have decided that they want to bring their own prejudices and hatred into their local assembly of worship. But when you divide people by skin pigment it is not GOD Almighty that you serve.
    • DNS  •  5 mths ago
      No wonder Church Congressional numbers are falling every year!!
    • Dale  •  5 mths ago
      If people spent as much time worrying about their own marriage as they do other people's, the divorce lawyers in this country would go out of business..As long as it's one consenting adult marrying another, no kids are being molested and no animals are being sodomized, then mind your own business! If you don't wanna marry outside your race, fine-But don't tell other people who to marry! This is not India, you cannot pick other people's spouses!
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