Lesbians Rejected From Church Where They Met—A Year Later

A Mississippi church formally revoked the membership for a lesbian who met her wife in there and condemned her "unbiblical lifestyle" in writing.

Mary Catherine Trollinger posted a letter on Facebook that Gracewood Baptist Church sent her just to make clear that she was not welcome to worship.

"Upon your request and evidence of repentance and reformation, however, you may be restored to full fellowship at Gracewood by the vote of the body," wrote Pastor Barry Baker.

"As the Father rejoices over one 'lost sheep' being found, we will celebrate your 'homecoming.' We will pray and wait expectantly."

Trollinger suggested in her Facebook post that moment won't come soon.

"Hmmmmm, ok whatever," she wrote. "Going to a better church now. Love my wife and Christ!"

Trollinger met wife Olivia Jennings while both attended the Southern Baptist church. After the two women began dating, they were asked to leave, they told WATN Local 24 News.

And the letter specifically points to their relationship as cause for the discrimination.

"It's been about a year now since you left your church family to live an unbiblical lifestyle with Olivia Jennings," Baker write Trollinger.

Jennings said the personal nature of the letter made it more shocking.

"It's one thing if you send out a letter that's generic, just a template, but it's another thing to personalize the letter. In that sense, all the things that were said it wasn't out of love, it was more out of spite," Jennings said.

And this move from her church is just one more bit of rejection. Trollinger said her family kicked her out of the home over her sexuality.

"Not only did my mom say you can't live here, but my church said you can't go here and it was in the same day," she told the news station, "so I was pretty heartbroken was in a deep depression for a few months there."

But the couple now attends another LGBTQ-accepting church in a different city.