Posted on 11/14/2007 5:15:06 PM PST by Graybeard58
Rowan Ford’s pastor urged mourners at her funeral Wednesday to put away anger and hate over the death of the 9-year-old girl who authorities allege charge was raped and murdered by her stepfather and another man.
Speakers remembered Rowan as a “sweetie” who loved everybody at her church in her southwest Missouri village of Stella and was always the first to show up for services and youth activities.
More than 300 people filled the Gospel Lighthouse Church in Neosho, about 15 miles from Stella, a larger building than her hometown church that was chosen because of the anticipated crowd.
Rowan’s mother, Colleen Ford, 44, did not speak during the service. She sat with her four adult children — two daughters and two sons — in the front facing Rowan’s closed white casket that bore a bouquet of red and white roses.
The service program, featuring a photo of a smiling Rowan, did not list stepfather David Spears among the surviving family.
Spears, 25, and his friend Chris Collings, 32, are in jail without bond on charges of first- degree murder and rape after investigators allege they both admitted attacking Rowan. A judge entered a not-guilty plea for the men at a court hearing Tuesday. Both are applying for public defenders.
“Many of you, if it was up to you, you’d organize a vigilante committee today and go after them,” the Rev. Glenn Ennis said during the funeral service. Ennis is pastor of Stella Baptist Church, which Rowan attended in her hometown of about 170 people.
Ennis urged mourners to remember that Rowan “is in a place today that is full of love, joy and peace.”
“If we focus on the evil in the situation, guess what? Who gets the glory? Satan
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
I forgot about the space between first and last name. It’s not allowed for some reason.
Yeah, right after the people swallow their "hate", and replace their "anger" with righteous indignation, while dispassionately get the gallows built.
I'm pretty certain that the sooner God sees them, and has a little discussion at them, the happier He'll be.
I guess I have to agree with you there.
I understand what you are trying to say. No one should live in hate. No one should allow their lives to be controlled by it.
But this is one of those times when I think religious teaching fails us as humans. In this circumstance, we must be outraged as a society. We MUST condemn this evil. We must feel the hate for awhile in order to accomplish these things.
In this circumstance, for someone who loved that child, hate is unavoidable for a time. We are humans full of sin. While we should not revel in our sin, I don't think we ought to be made to feel "less than", or guilty or wrong for being human and having these emotions. Denying them, or insisting that it cannot exist if we are Christians is harmful.
"... officials at the elementary school that Rowan attended said someone there had called a state child abuse hot line about the girl. Additional details, including when or why the call was made, were not available. ..."
Am wondering what that was all about.
He's practicing Christianity.
He is also practicing PC 'BS'......
How could one not be pissed off about this?
If this was my baby, I would certainly 'turn the other cheek'....'forgive my brother'.....etc.
Anything......to get a better shot........
Sort of, thou shall not kill, however the Govt is given the sword and act as the Lord’s Ministers in dealing out justice.
In the US “we the people” have merely delegated our Authority to Govt, as Sovereigns we retain the ability to pick that Authority back up.
It is my view that one of the reasons “Why” this sort of heinous actions occur is that Justice or Righteous punishment (or mercy) is no longer practiced, the criminals feel that temporary lust is worth the future cost to them.
Melas, good word.
Media reports indicate someone with the East Newton School District made at least one hotline call before the 9-year-old was reported missing on Nov. 2. Ford was a fourth grader at Triway Elementary in Stella.
In a telephone interview this afternoon, Watson said he was investigating whether hot line calls were made and if the DFS made the appropriate response.
“I want to know if hot line calls were made, and if appropriate responses were taken,” he said. “I don’t have any indication that a) they were made, and b) if appropriate action was taken.
“This system is supposed to be improved. I just want to make sure.”
I THINK we’re agreeing.....
I like your post #44, though I think true religion rightly understood serves us very well. To do less that react as you suggest would be the equivalent of serving two masters, both God and satan. You can’t. You either serve one or the other.
I won’t quote your entire #44. I’ll just say that there’s nothing in it that I disagree with.
When the keyword feature is working properly, which it’s not (#28), spaces are automatically closed.
Amos 5:13 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate."
My point is this:
There’s a lot of nonsense about the love of God these days. Also NOT a lot at ALL about the righteousness of God. He is both, simultaneously.
There is a time to tell people to forgive, and not be angry. A few days after a brutal murder/rape is not yet the time. Trusting God in forgiveness takes time...and it really is empty nonsense for a preacher, literally days after an event, to tell people “If we focus on the evil in the situation, guess what? Who gets the glory? Satan” The evil of the situation weighs very heavily now, and emotions are still shocked at this point. To say in essence, as this preacher sounds like he is saying, “God is just love, love, love...” is a very wrong thing to do, especially at this time.
God wants these men brought to justice! If they repent before execution, all well and good—and yes that should be the goal of the preacher. But why do we have such an excruciatingly slow system? In the days of our forefathers the trial would have already begun...and these men would be mounting the gallows steps in a couple weeks, not 8 or 10 years from now, waiting for a painless shot in the arm, after multiple nonsense appeals.
Honestly, America, and our Church too, has become such a spineless effeminate place!
God enacted the death penalty right after the Flood and before the Law was given.
IMO, it’s still a valid way to deal with murderers.
Amen!
While everyone is blathering on about what the Pastor said, let me interject a little reality & common sense.
Once AGAIN, it’s Mom’s new “Boyfriend/Husband” who is the perp concerning a step-child. Am I the ONLY one who sees a pattern here?
Ladies? For the love of all that is Holy; finish raising your kids ALONE if you have to, versus exposing them to these psycho-losers! Then, when they are adults, you can go looking for love in all the wrong places.
One reason, among many, that I greatly respect my Husband is that he dated me for 6 months, about 2x a week as our schedules allowed, before he would even let me MEET his son. He also had his Mom “screen me” to make sure I was someone WORTHY of being his sons StepMom. After that, it was another 6 months of “play dates” for the three of us to see how we would work as a family unit. (We’ll be married 14 years this Spring.)
If dopey women would take HALF that time to actually SCREEN potential FATHERS for their children, we wouldn’t have to be arguing over what the Pastor says at their FUNERALS! Grrrr!
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