Priest wanting family history as part of marriage counseling

My brother and his fiancée are trying to plan their wedding. The ceremony has been pushed out 6 months due to “availability issues”. They have to request multiple dates and then wait weeks for a response. They had been planning on a Spring wedding, which is now looking like sometime in the Fall. They have to schedule three counseling sessions, which is fine, but now I have been asked to provide a copy of our family tree. He has also been asked to provide a copy of his baptismal records, since we were both baptized in the Presbyterian church in the 1960’s. Our parents joined the Episcopal church shortly afterwards. Both parents have passed away, so it’s fallen to me as the oldest sibling to get the info together.
When did this become a thing? I didn’t have to provide that info 25 years ago, nor did our youngest brother 15 years ago. I have our genealogy records, but it’s frankly none of the priest’s business who our ancestors were. His fiancée, who did not grow up in the church is starting to think this is a little weird, and I can’t blame her. Any advice?

Posted Aug 31, 2026, 2:25 AM UTC

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