A few weeks ago Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church, a tiny church in Eastern Kentucky, “voted not to accept interracial couples as members or let them take part in some worship activities.” This incredibly backwards and exclusion decision, made as the result of the fifteen members present who cast votes, received significant local and national media coverage.
This past Sunday, the congregation reversed its early decision by unanimously (16 to 0) passing a motion in support of accepting people of all races into full involvement, including membership.
So What?
This story is disturbing on so many levels. Rather than speaking out about the original vote and the hate-filled message it provided, the Sandy Valley Conference of Free Will Baptists ( the local group of churches to which Gulnare Freewill Baptist Church belongs) opted to address the matter only indirectly by deciding the change did not meet the prescribed parliamentary rules.
- Based on what you know of this story and understand about American culture, how did this happen in America in a Christian church in 2011?
- How would you have responded to the original vote if you were a member of the congregation? a member of the larger community in which the church is located? a part of the Sandy Valley Conference of Free Will Baptists leadership/board?