By Izunna Okafor, Awka
A 46-year-old woman identified as Melissa Sloan has been barred from attending church service because of the tattoos on her body.
The incident happened at the Powys, Wales, United Kingdom, where the mother of seven was also said to have been ‘kicked out of church service’ by a priest, because of her 800 inkings.
Reports have it that this is not the first time the Britain’s most-tattooed mum has complained of being excluded from public gatherings. She was also said to have, last year, admitted that she was never invited to any Halloween parties, as she would ironically scare the guests off.
These notwithstanding, the last straw for the Welsh native was her being shut out from the church was, as, according to her, the priest told her: ‘You’ve got to leave’ after she was singing ‘too loud’.
She claimed she got kicked out of the church for her extreme affinity for tattoos
Reports also have it that Mrs. Sloan, who has a crucifix emblazoned on her nose, embraced God when her partner, Luke, fell ill, which made her resort to praying to God for his health.
She also actively engaged with church singing and prayers but claims she was ‘chucked out’ of the congregation mid-verse.
“Everyone turned their back laughing at me. The priest said ‘you’ve got to leave’, but most of them were laughing at me, nothing new. The priest must be evil to do that.
“I was singing ‘too loud’ and they told me I had to leave, I felt like the odd one out.
“The church is supposed to open its doors to everyone, but I got kicked out of there,” she recounted.
Sloan described it as a surreal moment, attributing it to her loud voice and perceived craziness.
Part of Melissa’s fondness for Christianity is its open-minded, welcoming nature, but she is in shock and feels let down by the alleged incident.
Helpless, Sloan feels that part of the church’s remit is helping people, and she places a lot of significance upon the ‘love thy neighbour’ principle.
The mum has gone as far as saying she has ‘no faith’ in the institution anymore after they judged her for her penchant for getting inked.
She even suspects that there must be evil churchgoers out there, for them to throw her under the bus like that, allegedly. This notwithstanding, she said she still wants to maintain good faith and her love for Jesus, claiming that God wouldn’t judge her like regular humans do.
This church encounter is coming shortly after she also recounted how she struggled to a driving instructor to give her lessons.
According to her, one man almost gave her a chance but she scared him off after their first lesson.
The tattooed mother admitted that her looks were capable of startling strangers at first glance.
Melissa’s extreme tattoo was also said to have made her remain unemployed for the past 20 years.