A young, unmarried Mississippi couple wanted to have their baby baptized but were told by their local Methodist church that it could not happen.
Kamri Mclendon, 18, lives with her boyfriend of two years, Tristan McPhail, in Sumrall, Mississippi. They welcomed their baby girl, Presleigh, in May. Having grown up in the church, Mclendon said she wanted to have an infant baptism performed at Hickory Grove United Methodist Church.
The couple said that the Rev. Dewayne Warren had agreed to perform the baptism, knowing that they were unmarried and had been attending church sporadically since the birth of their daughter.
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“He knew all of the information of us not being married, all of that,” Mclendon told WLBT. “And he agreed to it. He was like, ‘Yeah, that works.’ His wife sent us the material of what would need to be said at the service. He even announced it to the congregation. My grandmother and my aunt and uncle were all there. And then he sent us that letter.”
Mclendon shared to Facebook a photo of the letter she received, saying the baptism would not be performed because the couple was “living together in sin” and had “not been in regular, faithful attendance” at church.
“I feel that if I were to perform this ceremony in our church it would set a bad example for our Youth and children. It would be saying to them that the lifestyle that you are living is ok for a Christian. That is not so,” the letter said.
Mclendon said both she and her boyfriend were mostly shocked.
“We are aware we sinned, but us repenting for that is between us and the Lord. Not to be shamed by a church,” she wrote on Facebook. “When people ask why there are no young people in these churches this is why. My heart is breaking.”
She later updated her post to say that the “district superintendent for the Methodist Church met with [Warren] and rectified the situation.”
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“Thank you everyone for your support,” Mclendon added. “I shared this in hopes of bringing awareness to church hurt. It is very much real and we are so thankful for a supportive community.”
Mclendon said she and McPhail are in the process of looking for a new church.
