- A Mississippi woman called out a reverend for declining to baptize her child, per The Sun Herald.
- Rev. Dewayne Warren wrote a letter to Kamri Mclendon saying that the ceremony can't be done before she is not married.
A Mississippi woman says she felt "shamed" after a reverend refused to baptize her daughter, who had been born before she and her partner got married, the SunHerald reported.
The mother, Kamri Mclendon, detailed her experience in a Facebook post last month, saying that situations "like this are why young people are scared to go to church," according to the report.
I will be the first to admit that, yes, I have sinned and have done wrong in my life. but how did me trying to dedicate my daughter to Jesus turn into us being shamed for being young parents and unmarried?" the post said.
Mclendon said that after her "baby dedication" was confirmed, she received a letter from Rev. Dewayne Warren of Hickory Grove United Methodist Church — a church she's attended since she was a child.
"I am informed that you and the baby's father are living together in sin; the baby was conceived before the parents were married," Warren wrote in the Sept. 15 letter, according to the post. "The grandmother is living with a man in sin. You and the father have not been in regular, faithful attendance at our church."
The letter added that if the church conducted the ceremony, "it would set an example for our Youth and children."
The Herald reported that the church —located in Sumrall, Mississippi — only backs monogamous heterosexual couples who are married, per their website. The comment section of Mclendon's post criticized the reverend's letter that left her heartbroken.
In an update on her Facebook post, Mclendon said that the superintendent met with the pastor and sorted out the issue.