A Pastor was gunned down Sunday during his sermon in Maryville, Illinois. Some parishioners reported that they at first thought it was a drama skit when a man walked down the aisle and subsequently pulled out a pistol and began firing. The pastor deflected the first shot with his Bible which emitted a burst of confetti into the air when it was struck. Several rounds followed which struck the pastor who eventually died from his wounds. “We just sat there waiting for what comes next,” said an assistant pastor’s wife in reference to the confetti burst, “not realizing that he had wounded the pastor.”1 Several congregants bravely restrained the assailant until police arrived, and two were stabbed by the gunman who produced a knife in the struggle. In addition to the obvious, this tragedy has a subtext for pastors who make it a practice to include arts and entertainment in their sermons. it might desensitize people the point that they do not recognize a real emergency.
1. Jim Suhr, “Police: Ill. pastor deflected gunshot with Bible,” Breitbart.com. March 8, 2009.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96Q5BJ00&show_article=1&catnum=0
