Mon 21 Aug 00 18:31
http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,12074,00.html
Pastor Bars Interracial Marriage
COLUMBUS, Ohio Jul 10 -- A southern Ohio pastor has refused to allow an
interracial wedding in his church, forcing the couple to move the ceremony.
The marriage of Chastity Bumgardner and Henry Lawrence was scheduled for
July 16 at the Pleasant Valley Community Church in Pike County, about
60 miles south of Columbus, by Bumgardner's brother, a newly ordained
minister.
But the Rev. Donald Ellis confirmed to The Columbus Dispatch that he
canceled the ceremony after learning that Lawrence is black. The pastor
refused to say why.
"This is my church," Ellis said.
Bumgardner, 26, who grew up in Pike County but now lives in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla., said her brother has found a small church in nearby
Beaver for the ceremony and the wedding will happen Saturday, as
planned.
She said she was shocked at Ellis's decision.
"It's something I would expect in Alabama or Mississippi, but I
never expected it to happen in Ohio," she told the Dispatch.
She added that her fiance, a 39-year-old Alabama native she met
while both were in the Army, is "real hurt by it." Lawrence
could not be reached to comment; a telephone listing for him
could not immediately be found.
Pike County is about 98 percent white, according to the 1990
U.S. Census, which said there were 327 black county residents.
[SQ note: Wonder what God thinks of this guy taking over His
Domicile.]
* Origin: Gerard Finneran Fan Club (1:393/9005.13)
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