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| The original picture posted with this article was removed. See comments. |
Members of the community caught or killed most of the game, including minors who described how they killed bucks and does with rifles from family arsenals.
The Master's Servants quartet performed the song "Use Me" and various gospel songs.
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| Family values were emphasized at the event. |
After
the sermon and Christian Servant's Resolution was read by a visiting
minister and a prayer was given, guns were raffled off using attendance
cards. One was given to a 12 year old boy and another to an adult male
in the church sanctuary, with the fully illuminated cross in the background. Gift cards were also
raffled off. There was no charge or offering required.
"I thought the guns at the altar were for security, for I did not sign up for a gun raffle," said one winner who was surprised when he won a shotgun.
"I thought the guns at the altar were for security, for I did not sign up for a gun raffle," said one winner who was surprised when he won a shotgun.
Background
checks were not done for those receiving guns, but copies of driver's
licenses of the winners and minor's grandparents were made. The grandparent's verbal permission for the youth to receive the gun had to be gotten, and the man's wife had to approve him receiving the shotgun.
Many members of the surrounding community expressed outrage that guns are being given away at church, which they believe sends a mixed Christian message concerning deadly weapons and religious morality. Others deemed it a veiled attempt to acquire guns without a proper background check.
"My church would never do that," said one Lawrenceburg, Kentucky native.
This event follows others in which guns are being raffled despite increasing incidents of gun violence taking place all across the U.S. "I guess they have found a way to raise money that is more successful than a bake sale," he said.
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| Raffle ticket in Kentucky to support traveling ball team. |
FYI: Gun ceremony in Pennsylvania Church reported by Esquire Magazine:
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/g18925932/gun-church-ceremony-photos/?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_news&date=030118
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/g18925932/gun-church-ceremony-photos/?src=nl&mag=esq&list=nl_enl_news&date=030118
E says:m Still don't understand the logic of the church leaders for doing something like this. So many things they could have given away like Bibles, Bible study books, Bible tapes (have been thinking about getting these) etc.
ReplyDeleteR says: Wow!
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable
T says: This is horrible and quite sad. Sorry (you guys) were even there. Some world we live in today.
ReplyDeleteWe were invited at the last minute ... really opened my eyes!
DeleteD says: They were having a gun raffle in Md yesterday too but they needed to go through a background check before they gave them the gun
ReplyDeleteG says: Guns represent something very profound in America and not to attach a racial component to it...white america. Being from ky, I was raised with guns and hunted until I was 16, now I can’t stand the thought of killing an animal but I still have a couple for home defense . I asked a close white friend of mine why he was teaching his young grand son to shoot guns and he really couldn’t give me a solid answer, I think he mentioned something like the pioneer days and the birth of our nation and second amendment rights
ReplyDeleteP says: These people are totally off as far as what a Christian church is about. This should be no surprise, however, if you consider the fragmentation of Christianity brought about by the Protestant Reformation and the idea that they have the freedom to move into any direction they wish. Nor is it a surprise if you look at the bloodshed associated with Protestantism from the very beginning. Guns have been part of this culture in one way or another since the time of Luther. A very confused version of Christianity.
ReplyDeleteI am saddened, but not completely surprised.
H says: Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteJ says: Interesting, to say the least, specifically, in regard to whether a raffle constitutes gambling. Yet, gambling to win guns in a church is poses an equally unsettling question... The church sanctuary is sacred, and should be honored as such. Therefore, a reasonable person might wonder if the presence of guns dishonors the sanctuary and in so-doing dishonors God.
ReplyDeleteF says: Lord, have mercy!
ReplyDeleteD. says: This is an unusual situation to comment on. Although it's tempting, I doubt I could be convinced to support any raffle in Church. I am pretty much conditioned to feel uncomfortable with it, and to not expect any sort of raffle is acceptable in our Church's. Be it in or out of the Sanctuary. I know there are some Churches that do hold them. For example, my families Church in NJ raffles a car at their festival. I'm sure there are others. However, whether it be for a car or a gun, or you name it, a raffle is one thing, but bringing the raffle into the Sanctuary is another. Something doesn't sit too well with this. My initial thought is that the item being raffled, a gun, is a distraction from the broader question of the propriety of it regardless of the item. If a gun causes discomfort, it now becomes a matter of threshold, opinion, or judgment, not propriety. (i.e. a baby carriage is okay a gun is not.) I don't know the answer, but I'm not comfortable with raffles in Church, inside or outside of the Sanctuary, but no matter what the item, inside the Sanctuary doesn't feel right at all and should have been better thought out.
ReplyDeleteJ says: I wish that you had not put our picture in your blog. n you should have asked us about it we would have said No. This has put us in a bad situation I wish that you would take it down. If I knew that this would happen you would not have gone
ReplyDeleteAs a reporter/investigative journalist for years, I cover public events. Did I accurately report what happened? Did I say anything bad about you in the article? Are you also gonna ask the church to take off your picture that they have on their Facebook page? I would also like to know about the bad situation you say you have been placed in...why are you afraid?
DeleteIn my opinion, since you are a deaconess, you should be asking questions about why these raffles are taking place in church sanctuaries, what is appropriate and inappropriate... maybe this is your moment... maybe you should be asking these questions, not me! Maybe you should be speaking out, not trying to distance yourself from a major issue.
Out of love and to keep peace in the family, I'm removing the picture but am also going to say why I am removing it. I definitely don't want anything bad to happen to you. It's situations like this which keep perpetuating this crazy gun culture we have.