Posted on 03/12/2005 12:24:04 PM PST by ConservativeMan55
Edited on 03/12/2005 4:38:41 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Eight people are dead and four others injured after gunfire broke out during a church meeting this afternoon at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield. Police say that the suspect is among the eight dead and no other suspects are being sought.
The dead range in age from 10 years old to 72.
"emphasis was on the Atlanta Court House killings and the Nichols killing spree. As well it should have been. Nichols killed a judge in a court. Killing judges in courts is barbaric and is anarchaic. We will never survive as a civilization if we allow people to assassinate our public officials. What happened in Brookfield, Wisconsin, today, was a random act of violence. What happened in Atlanta was anarchy, meant to destroy our basic faith in our system. The Atlanta assault along with the murders of Judge Lefkow's Mother and Husband should put us all on notice that we must protect our public officials"
You believe in the class system. Some people are more important than others.
"But it seems to me that it is poetic justice in general (and possibly injustice in the particular) that what judges for 40 years have permitted to happen to us, has come home to roost."
Too bad teh judge killed wasn't the one who let the child molestor go because his known victim (the one the pervert videotaped himself molesting) had died before the tape was found.
Sorry to disagree (while acknowledging your Jim Robinson-given right to vent), but I am quite interested in some personal experience with this particular church. There does not appear to be a church web site, so from my vantage point here in the east this is good stuff.
And I would trust a Freeper's personal account more than one from the MSM.
I am from the class of 69.
Are the Amish considered in the mainstream of Christianity?
These murders are so tragic. Most of the folks in the Church of God are fine people, but there are a few people with serious mental problems who come into any organization.
This bunch were, and maybe still are, control freaks and very professional at it to say the very least.
I'm not familiar with that case, but everyday there are examples of judicial lunacy that do violence to both common sense and the Constitution.
Oh really?
I'm '76 and my b-i-l is close to my age but a year or two younger, (I think he graduated in '77 or '78).
'Control freaks'.
Apt.
It was never 'my church'.
I located a old school buddy a few years ago, he said they all thought I was killed in Nam.
I guess I should have let someone know, but..........life moves on and I left Wisconsin in the rear view mirror.
Some fond memories of Green bay however.
Don't know if it's true, but here's a possible explaination for the 'Jesus Nut' thing. Posted from a Milwaukee radio board I visit. I tend to believe it, TMJ is usually a quality, unbiased organization, although the same can't be said about their Journal Com brethren, The Journal Sentinal.
"As a Vietnam vet who's logged more hours that I care to remember in a helicopter I'll just bet the Jesus Nut comment came in reference to the bolt that holds your ship in the air. It has to be tightened (torqued) every few hours of flight or it can come off. Along with your blades! It's called a Jesus Nut. Don't believe me? Look it up, you'll find plenty of references to it on any good aviation Web site. Since WTMJ was trying to bring in the helicopter crew at the time I'll bet we overheard someone asking about the state of the nut...rather than making a political commentary on the nut on the ground who killed all those people. Hell it might even have been an air controller talking to the pilot! I can't tell you how many times in the late 60's I told my crew "You'd better check that Jesus nut.." I could be wrong, but TMJ is too class an organization to include someone who would say otherwise. BTW I admired Herrera for taking the blame the way he did. He obviously never heard the term or he would've known it was in reference to equipment, not people. I was yelling at my radio trying to let him know what the comment referred to. I also tried to call the station, but I guess they were too busy to pick up the phone"
Very, very interesting... and shows how quick people are to jump to conclusions.
I spent my early years at that mall, just a few years after it was built, hanging onto my Mom's hand for hours. It's where I learned to hate shopping, one of the best gifts my Mom ever gave me. I've hated malls ever since.
Prayers for all in Milwaukee affected by this....
The "Presiding Evangelist" of the Living Church of God is Roderick Meredith. He was one of the first students at Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. The late Herbert W. Armstrong founded Ambassador College.
Tragedy puts spotlight on obscure church
Organization's leaders stunned by slayings of members, longtime pastor
By DAVE UMHOEFER
dumhoefer@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 12, 2005
The Living Church of God, a relatively new organization born of a split over religious doctrine, counts only several thousand members worldwide but spreads its word through weekly telecasts on 150 stations in several countries.
Hotel Shooting
Photo/Mary Jo Walicki
The Sheraton Hotel is just off of Interstate 94 next to the Brookfield Square Mall.
Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
A grieving woman is escorted from the hotel by authorities hours after the shootings.
Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
Memorials are placed in a snow bank near the hotel Saturday evening.
More photos
Related Coverage
Gunman: Quiet man gave no hint of violence
Church: Tragedy puts spotlight on obscure church
TMJ4 video: Witness describes shootings
More multimedia: News conferences, TMJ4 and 620 WTMJ reports
History: Previous multiple murders in Wisconsin
Map of the area
On the Web
Living Church of God
Advertisement
Saturday's shootings in Brookfield brought the relatively obscure church into the spotlight in a tragic way.
The slayings came on Saturday, the church's day of worship as practiced in the time of the Old Testament. Members, who believe the Bible is the literal word of God, were gathering as they do throughout the country in small groups at rented halls, hotels and other locations.
The non-denominational church dates only to the 1990s, a spiritual descendant of the Worldwide Church of God, which was established by the late Herbert W. Armstrong. In 2003, when it moved its headquarters to Charlotte, N.C., from San Diego, it listed 6,300 members at some 200 congregations in 40 countries. Many of its members are from the Southern United States.
The church produces a TV program, "Tomorrow's World," that is seen around the world. A church Web site lists Wausau as the only Wisconsin city receiving the broadcast. The show airs on WGN from Chicago early on Sunday mornings. Recent episodes have included "A Nation of Adulterers?" and "Prophetic Milestones Ahead."
The church's beliefs are rooted in the Bible. It cites its mission as preaching the true gospel of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.
According to a piece by the church's Presiding Evangelist Roderick C. Meredith that is posted online, the Living Church of God is where "the full truth of the Bible is taught and practiced."
Members believe that the "Great Tribulation" - war and famine as prophesied in the Bible - is nearing and that Christ will return as "King of kings."
The Worldwide Church of God splintered over disagreements on doctrine. The Living Church of God is the second largest group that formed from that split, said Jim King, a longtime member in Omaha, Neb., who is active in choir direction. He said the United Church of God was the largest new religious organization to form from the breakup.
Church leaders and members from around the country struggled to take in the stunning news Saturday.
"This is pretty shocking," King said.
"We're still trying to put it all together. This is such a shock," said Charles E. Bryce, director of administration for the church at its North Carolina headquarters. Bryce said he would fly to Milwaukee today to learn more about the violence.
One of the victims of Saturday's shootings in Brookfield was Randy L. Gregory, a 50-year-old Gurnee, Ill., resident who church members say has served as a regional pastor for Living Church of God congregations for many years.
"He is a very fine man," said King, who said he met and worked alongside Gregory last fall in Missouri at the church's Feast of Tabernacles, a holy week for the church. "He's very committed and dedicated to his work."
Bryce, a close friend of Gregory's, described the congregation that meets at the Sheraton hotel in Brookfield as "a wonderful group."
Gregory, a veteran pastor in the church, traveled in the Midwest serving various congregations. His wife, Marjean, accompanied him to the Feast of Tabernacles, according to King, who joined the Worldwide Church in 1970. Gregory coordinated the feast.
Gregory often coordinated outings for youth groups, and was planning a camp for pre-teens in Missouri.
Gregory lived with his family off a quiet cul-de-sac in Gurnee in a modest, two-story home with basketball hoop. Neighbors said he, his wife and two sons were friendly but reserved.
"He was very quiet, almost overly so," said a friend and neighbor, Toni D'Amore, a dental hygienist. She said Gregory was seen walking in the neighborhood daily.
Moved from Texas
D'Amore said the family had moved to Gurnee from Texas approximately five years ago and chose the city because it was midway between Milwaukee and Chicago, where Randy Gregory also had a congregation.
The couple's younger son, James, is a junior at Warren Township High School, she said. Jonathan, the older of the two sons, had recently completed studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The family would take trips with the congregation to such places as France and Canada, she said.
The split in the Worldwide Church of God has had serious side effects, with lingering disputes over doctrine and finger-pointing between people who used to worship together but are now apart, King noted.
According to its Web site, the Worldwide Church of God is a Christian denomination with about 64,000 members worshipping in 860 congregations in about 90 nations. It is headquartered in Pasadena, Calif. That church is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Meredith was one of the original evangelists ordained by Armstrong, the Worldwide Church of God founder.
Journal Sentinel reporters Graeme Zielinski in Gurnee, Ill., and Marie Rohde in Milwaukee contributed to this report.
Well, something that I've noticed is that here in the KC area, the media is hyping the fact that we're on pace to set a record on homocides this year. So far, there have been 24, and the year isn't even out of the first quarter!
There have been reports of increased gang activity, but I have no doubt that someone's going to blame it on the CCW law that was passed last year (and was enacted recently in Jackson Co.)
Mark
I wish all these shooters would just do us all a BIG favor
and just do themselves first.....why cause others to suffer?
Yes but if my memory serves me correctly, that was all associated with the Worldwide Church of God. Meridith left Worldwide and started Living Church of God.
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