Subscribe
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE

Single mother Charity Grace (pictured) alleges she was barred from a dedication service for children that is to take place at Pastor Marvin Winans’ Perfecting Church in Detroit, Mich., this Sunday because she had her 2-year-old son out of wedlock, Fox 2 News reports.

Take our polls at the bottom of this story.

Grace, who had been attending the church for several years, says she was thrilled at the thought of having her only child receive the special anointment from Winans. “I want to instill values and morals in my son based upon the word of God,” she enthused.

But she says when she called the church’s administration office to make arrangements for the dedication service, she was met with an unexpected response when she mentioned that she was unmarried.

“I told them I was not married and that’s where everything just broke loose,” said Grace. She says she was informed by a woman at the church’s office that Winans does not allow unwed mothers to take part in the blessing ceremony. “I’ve never felt so degraded and disrespected in my life,” she said of the snub.

Fox 2 News reached out Winans but the gospel singer said he had no comment.

Watch Charity talk about being snubbed below:

Meanwhile, News One reached out to Pastor Kevin Gravesandy, who heads the Bronx Christian Church in New York to weigh in on the allegation against Winans. According to Gravesandy, every single church has a set of policies that they go by, so Winans organization is no different. In fact, Gravesandy said if Winans did in fact turn away Grace from the dedication ceremony he is within his rights, but where he tends to disagree with the move is where the child is concerned.

According to Gravesandy, who quotes 1 Corinthians 7:14, “For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.” 

Gravesandy says that God offers forgiveness for sins through Jesus Christ and the eternal comfort of heaven for those who accept Him, the children who accept Him. He added that God cares about families, but he is more concerned that each person, no matter what their family looks like, is repenting of sin and coming into a relationship with Him.

So according to Gravesandy, if Grace is truly a believer and is a Christian, then God will sanctify the child.

Meanwhile Grace is saddened by Winan’s alleged unwelcoming stance towards her and tells Fox 2 News, “I absolutely would not set foot back in the church right now because I feel  like they look down upon me and my kind, meaning single moms and unwed mothers. The church should be the last place you should go to be  judged and denied.”

Can somebody say “Amen!”

Poll 2: