By Alon Harish
Southern Baptist leaders on Monday urged a Mississippi church that refused to wed a black couple to reject racial discrimination.
Just one day before Charles and Te'Andrea Wilson were set to be married at the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Miss., the pastor there told them they would have to find another venue because congregants were uncomfortable with a black wedding ceremony.
After outrage mounted locally and the Wilsons' story went viral online over the weekend, officials at the Mississippi Baptist Convention chastised the Crystal Springs church for its refusal to marry the pair.
"Our entire country, and especially here in Mississippi, has been on a long journey for right racial relationships," said Mississippi Baptist Convention Board executive director Jim Futral in a statement.
City officials in Crystal Springs are planning a rally for racial unity in the town Monday evening, according to The Associated Press.
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