The Perfecting Church, home to
famed gospel singer and pastor
Marvin Winans, is having a special
dedication ceremony for the
congregation's youngest members on
Sunday.
Charity Grace, a Detroiter who
recently started attending services at
the church on East Nevada Street,
wanted her only son, two-year-old
Joshua Grace, to share in the
blessings.
"I want to instill values and morals in
my son based upon the word of God,"
she told Fox 2 Detroit.
But when she called Perfecting
Church on Tuesday to sign up Joshua
for the ceremony, Charity said she
was told by a woman elected in the
church that Pastor Winans has a strict
policy he won't bless the babies of
unwed mothers in front of the
congregation, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
According to a New York Times
report, 36 percent of mothers who
reported giving birth in 2011 weren't
married.
Grace said she felt degraded by the
pastor's decision. She's hoping he
reconsiders, even if it means having
her son dedicated during the week by
a church elder.
Until then, she told Fox 2 Detroit she
has no plans to return to Perfecting
Church.
"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," Grace said.
Pope Francis recently said in May that
the Catholic Church should bless
children born out of wedlock, because
their mothers chose life over
abortion.
“'Look at this girl who had had the
courage to carry her pregnancy to
term. ... "What does she find? A
closed door," he said, according to
Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore
Romano. "This is not good pastoral
zeal, it distances people from the
Lord and does not open doors."
Dr. Jacqui Lewis is the Senior Minister
of Middle Collegiate Church in
Manhattan's East Village. She told The
Huffington Post she was surprised
that a child "of any kind" would be
denied a blessing from a church, and
referenced the Gospel of Mark,
10:10-16:
"People were bringing little
children to Jesus for him to
place his hands on them, but
the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, he was
indignant. He said to them,
“Let the little children come
to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these.
Truly I tell you, anyone who
will not receive the kingdom
of God like a little child will
never enter it.” And he took
the children in his arms,
placed his hands on them
and blessed them."
"You want to know what the Kingdom
of God is like?" she asked. "Check out
the children. Check out their
innocence, check out their wide eyed
wonder, check out their
acknowledgement that they are
dependent on others."
Dr. Lewis also noticed something else
the little boy from Perfecting
Church who was denied a blessing is
named Joshua. "You know, Jesus's
name is really Joshua," she said.
"Joshua is Jesus's namesake, and
Jesus was born to a mother just like
this mother."
The pastor is a member of the Winans
family, one of America's most famous
gospel clans. He's a gospel singer who
has released several albums with the
Perfecting Church choir and a
recurring member on "Tyler Perry's
House of Payne." Winans also
memorably delivered the eulogy at
Whitney Houston's funeral in 2012.
He was carjacked and assaulted
outside a Detroit gas station in 2012.
While Dr. Lewis has never met
Winans, she said she believes he's a
man with a "real heart for Jesus's
people." She told The Huffington Post
she hopes to someday have coffee
with Winans to talk about the issue of
withholding blessings.
"The way we think about God and the
way we think of what God wants us to
do ... I think that happens in
relationships," she said.
She told The Huffington Post she
would ask Rev. Winans this question:
"What would be the harm of blessing
those babies, versus the gain? And
wouldn't the gain be that they are
baptized and greeted into the
community? Then, that Mama would
have a whole community of Mamas
and Daddies, and Aunties and Uncles
to help raise the baby. That's actually
a strong black church tradition," she
added. "It takes a whole village to
raise these children."
"You make sure you put my phone
number in there, okay?" Dr. Lewis
asked.
Rev. Winans, you can contact Dr.
Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church
here.
The Huffington Post contacted
Perfecting Church for comment and
will update this story with any reply.
famed gospel singer and pastor
Marvin Winans, is having a special
dedication ceremony for the
congregation's youngest members on
Sunday.
Charity Grace, a Detroiter who
recently started attending services at
the church on East Nevada Street,
wanted her only son, two-year-old
Joshua Grace, to share in the
blessings.
"I want to instill values and morals in
my son based upon the word of God,"
she told Fox 2 Detroit.
But when she called Perfecting
Church on Tuesday to sign up Joshua
for the ceremony, Charity said she
was told by a woman elected in the
church that Pastor Winans has a strict
policy
unwed mothers in front of the
congregation, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
According to a New York Times
report, 36 percent of mothers who
reported giving birth in 2011 weren't
married.
Grace said she felt degraded by the
pastor's decision. She's hoping he
reconsiders, even if it means having
her son dedicated during the week by
a church elder.
Until then, she told Fox 2 Detroit she
has no plans to return to Perfecting
Church.
"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," Grace said.
Pope Francis recently said in May that
the Catholic Church should bless
children born out of wedlock, because
their mothers chose life over
abortion.
“'Look at this girl who had had the
courage to carry her pregnancy to
term. ... "What does she find? A
closed door," he said, according to
Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore
Romano. "This is not good pastoral
zeal, it distances people from the
Lord and does not open doors."
Dr. Jacqui Lewis is the Senior Minister
of Middle Collegiate Church in
Manhattan's East Village. She told The
Huffington Post she was surprised
that a child "of any kind" would be
denied a blessing from a church, and
referenced the Gospel of Mark,
10:10-16:
"People were bringing little
children to Jesus for him to
place his hands on them, but
the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, he was
indignant. He said to them,
“Let the little children come
to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these.
Truly I tell you, anyone who
will not receive the kingdom
of God like a little child will
never enter it.” And he took
the children in his arms,
placed his hands on them
and blessed them."
"You want to know what the Kingdom
of God is like?" she asked. "Check out
the children. Check out their
innocence, check out their wide eyed
wonder, check out their
acknowledgement that they are
dependent on others."
Dr. Lewis also noticed something else
Church who was denied a blessing is
named Joshua. "You know, Jesus's
name is really Joshua," she said.
"Joshua is Jesus's namesake, and
Jesus was born to a mother just like
this mother."
The pastor is a member of the Winans
family, one of America's most famous
gospel clans. He's a gospel singer who
has released several albums with the
Perfecting Church choir and a
recurring member on "Tyler Perry's
House of Payne." Winans also
memorably delivered the eulogy at
Whitney Houston's funeral in 2012.
He was carjacked and assaulted
outside a Detroit gas station in 2012.
While Dr. Lewis has never met
Winans, she said she believes he's a
man with a "real heart for Jesus's
people." She told The Huffington Post
she hopes to someday have coffee
with Winans to talk about the issue of
withholding blessings.
"The way we think about God and the
way we think of what God wants us to
do ... I think that happens in
relationships," she said.
She told The Huffington Post she
would ask Rev. Winans this question:
"What would be the harm of blessing
those babies, versus the gain? And
wouldn't the gain be that they are
baptized and greeted into the
community? Then, that Mama would
have a whole community of Mamas
and Daddies, and Aunties and Uncles
to help raise the baby. That's actually
a strong black church tradition," she
added. "It takes a whole village to
raise these children."
"You make sure you put my phone
number in there, okay?" Dr. Lewis
asked.
Rev. Winans, you can contact Dr.
Lewis of Middle Collegiate Church
here.
The Huffington Post contacted
Perfecting Church for comment and
will update this story with any reply.
No comments:
Post a Comment