"The Sunday Truth..."

Fearing Backlash, Texas Church Will Let Gay Couple Dedicate Their Child In Main Sanctuary

Shoreline Church had tried to relegate ceremony to a side chapel

Greg Hernandez
May 23, 2015

Rich Jones and Adrian Mertz will be dedicating their son at Shoreline Church in Austin, Texas, after all.

The couple, who were married last year, were initially told that the ceremony would have to be held in a side chapel instead of the main sanctuary because of their homosexuality.

But the church quickly changed course after a local TV station contacted them about the snub.

'We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused the Mertz family regarding the dedication of their child to God,' the church said in a statement.

'We understand how our attempt to make a reasonable accommodation was misguided and hurtful. It is our intent to uphold human dignity, and in this regard we have failed. We are reaching out to the family to invite them to our next baby dedication.'

Mertz does not hold a grudge and tells KVUE-TV: 'Honestly I am just so happy and glad that we stepped out on faith. We've come to realize in order to expect change, you have to be part of the change and this just shed light on what Shoreline is really all about.'

The church's quick change of heart could have been due to the recent firestorm of controversy that hit Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida.

The church had canceled the baptism of the son of a gay couple because some members of the congregation objected.

Rich McCaffrey and his husband Eric went public via Facebook post that was shared by more than 1,000 people. This led to an online petition signed by more than 25,000 people, according to Towleroad.

********

"Fear Eats the Soul"