What happened in 1927 when a Reformed pastor belonging to the Ku Klux Klan and actively supporting its views comes into conflict with his congregation? He got called by another church! This was the case of Rev. Vernon D. Grubb of Chester County, Pennsylvania, who ended up in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, after half his congregation opposed him.
From the Mount Carmel Daily News, October 25, 1927:
KLAN PASTOR IS CHANGED
POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Rev. Vernon D. Grubb, Klansman pastor of Brownback’s Reformed Church in Chester County, about seven miles south of here for the past six years, assumes the pastorship of St. Paul’s Reformed Church in Juniata, the first Sunday in December, it was learned today.
Rev. Grubb’s resignation from the Chester County church, effective December 1 [1927], follows five years of contention between two factions of the church. One faction approved of the minister’s activities, while the other opposed him. The church is one of the largest in the country.
This post is a continuation of the reporting on hate groups that were active in the Lykens Valley area. It was a widely known fact that the Ku Klux Klan had a significant presence in the Lykens Valley and adjacent valleys during the early years of the 20th Century. This iteration of the Klan was strongly white supremacist and was opposed to equal rights for African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.