Alan Kendrick, a longtime senior pastor at an Alabama church, retires from the department months after his grandson was charged with the shocking murder of his family.
The 73-year-old pastor has been on vacation from the Church of Praise in Oasis in Bessemer, Alabama since December 18th last year, months after the murder unfolded on July 18th, 2024.
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The preacher announced his retirement earlier this month after he and his wife, the gay, co-starred in the congregation. They took over the church in 1983. He then moved to the Church of Pocahontas Road God before taking on his current name.
“I’m just tired,” he said in an interview with al.com. “My wife is tired.”
Alan Kendrick has faced intense scrutiny since his grandson, 32-year-old Brandon Alan Kendrick II, was charged with five counts of capital murder. According to court documents, Brandon Kendrick is accused of fatally shooting his 24-year-old wife, Kelce, two children, Caleb, six-year-old and Kynli, two-year-old, and an eight-year-old cousin. . Colton and six-year-old Haley Daniels.
The pastor said, “When this happened, I began to be accused of being responsible for the five murders that happened. They claimed I stood and saw it.”
But Alan Kendrick argues that it’s simply not. He said, “It was through God’s grace that my wife and I were not victimized by the fatal shootings of my grandson.
Speaking to the Oasis congregation a few days after the murder, Alan Kendrick remembers the tragic trial and reveals that it was his wife, gay, who pulled the gun out of Brandon Kendrick’s hand.
The pastor told people in the church that he and his wife had spoken to their grandchildren a few minutes ago and laughed. He was told the gunshots rang out after he left their bedroom. The alleged shooting took place in an apartment above the garage of Elder Kendrick’s property, where Brandon Kendrick and his family lived.
“I didn’t wear shoes, so I’m wearing them,” Alan Kendrick said. “He (Brandon) is walking through the bedroom with a gun in his hand. (Gay) was closest to him. She grabbed the gun. It disappeared. How did it hit her? I don’t know if it didn’t interfere with that.”
Then, after a brief pause, he said, “Yeah, I’ll do.” He suggested that it was God who prevented his wife from being fatally attacked and protected her. The comment sparked applause from the congregation.
The pastor continued. “Our prayer team, about an hour before this incident that night, our prayer team stood here, holding hands and praying for the safety of gays. I was in the church. They reached out to some of the members, who helped me and helped me to get some help. So they prayed for us.”
Alan Kendrick said after conquering his grandson, the young man “didn’t know where he was.”
It is important to note that the co-pastor has raised his grandchild from the age of 12, as his father has passed away and his mother is said to be addicted to drugs. Family members said Daily Mail’s Brandon Kendrick was suffering from schizophrenia, which worsened in the weeks leading up to the massacre.
The Facebook group has come to fruition in the aftermath of the murder. Among them, some people, including the granddaughter of Hailey Goodwin Beard, Gay Kendrick’s sister, have provided firearms that Alan Kendrick can make a fatal rampage and use by his grandchildren. He criticized him.
“My grandson’s wife bought a gun,” he retorted. “She worked for General Dollar at night. I told her not to do that. She did anyway. About two weeks before it all happened, she brought me a gun. , he said he didn’t need it (access). I said, “I told you that,” I told her, “I hid it and here in the closet. I’m going to put it inside.” I put it back here behind this shelf. I didn’t know she came back and got it. ”
Due to the intense scrutiny he faced, Alan Kendrick said he and his wife were unable to truly grieve the loss they had experienced.
“All that tragedy, and Bam,” he said. “I was threatened. If we came to the funeral, my family was threatened, so we didn’t go to the funeral. So there was no closure. I just (of pressure) I do a lot.”
“I went through hell and came back there,” he later added his time as a pastor, noting that he was accused by critics of sexual harassment, sexual abuse and cover-up of sexual abuse.
He denied the allegations, but Alan Kendrick said the Tennessee-based Theocratic Church hired investigators to investigate the levelled charges against him.
The pastor pointed out that if the investigation continues, he will waive his sermon license. And he said he decided to retire, rather than face a potential church trial.
“I gave my life to the ministry,” recalls Alan Kendrick, lamenting his damaged reputation as a result of his claims against him. “Many people have been saved.”
But now he said, “I won’t come back.”
However, members of the Facebook group were pleased to see Alan Kendrick retire.
“I hope his congregation will flourish and he will heal from all the hell he has passed them,” Beard said. “We hope that Kelce’s friends and family will be healed, and that Kelce and his children who lost their lives will get the righteousness they deserve. …Alan Kendrick deserves ounces of sympathy. No. All those he hurts deserve sympathy.”
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