Kentucky Church Votes to Ban Interracial Couples (One Showed Up, And They Got Scared)

 Gulnare Freewill Baptist church of Pike County, Kentucky appears to have undergone a racist  freak-out.  According to the Kentucky Herald-Ledger, Stella Harville brought her black fiance, Ticha Chikuni, to the church in June. There, she sang while he played piano.  Aww? Nope. On Sunday, in a 9-6  vote, church members decided to keep mixed couples out of most church activities. They did it  “to promote greater unity among the church body,” because that makes a lot of sense.

According to WKYT, the proposal says the church does not condone interracial marriages, and that:

“Parties of such marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals. All are welcome to our public worship services. This recommendation is not intended to judge the salvation of anyone, but is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve.”

 Melvin Thompson, the pastor who proposed officially condemning mixed marriages in early November, stepped down in August. According to the Kentucky Herald-Ledger, Harville said the new pastor, Stacy Stepp, said the couple can sing in church if they want.  

"People who have backwards way of thinking, they should know that their racism actions should not and will not be tolerated,"  Harville told WKYT. She wants the church to reconsider its racist resolution, but is probably not going back there.