A Kentucky Church Having Open Carry Service

[doublebarrel]

I don't understand the whole intent of this pastor and his request.

Awareness. It's good thing to bring up the idea of guns, gun ownerships, when the subject is something like church, sports, etc., "normal" things. Guns should not cause people to cringe, and imagine violence, criminals, drugs, killings, etc...

 

[SBG40]

With what is going on in the churchs today i beleave we should all carry in them,I do, don't get me wrong i'm not anti-God i do beleave in a higher power, but where is he when you get some idoit who wants to come into the church and shoot the place up or wants to kill someone in it,and the first thing everyone in the church will say is "oh my God help us" you would think that the church would be the safest place to be NOT!!!,

 

[Benny]

Guns must be unloaded? You're doing it wrong.

LOL, those are the exact words I said to my TV when I heard this on the news.

 

[The Meach]

If i could carry to church I would. Sadly OLG in Noblesville has a school a part of the building,

 

[Pami]

Two threads merged in case anyone gets confused on the continuity of the posts.

 

[Rookie]

Church Welcomes Guns at July 4 Bash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 5) - A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment.
New Bethel Church is welcoming "responsible handgun owners" to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety.
"We're just going to celebrate the upcoming theme of the birth of our nation," said pastor Ken Pagano. "And we're not ashamed to say that there was a strong belief in God and firearms — without that this country wouldn't be here."
The guns must be unloaded and private security will check visitors at the door, Pagano said.
He said recent church shootings, including the killing Sunday of a late-term abortion provider in Kansas, which he condemned, highlight the need to promote safe gun ownership. The New Bethel Church event was planned months before Dr. George Tiller was shot to death in a Wichita church.
Kentucky allows residents to openly carry guns in public with some restrictions. Gun owners carrying concealed weapons must have state-issued permits and can't take them to schools, jails or bars, among other exceptions.
Pagano's Protestant church, which attracts up to 150 people to Sunday services, is a member of the Assemblies of God. The former Marine and handgun instructor said he expected some backlash, but has heard only a "little bit" of criticism of the gun event.
John Phillips, an Arkansas pastor who was shot twice while leading a service at his former church in 1986, said a house of worship is no place for firearms.
"A church is designated as a safe haven, it's a place of worship," said Phillips, who was shot by a church member's relative for an unknown reason and still has a bullet lodged in his spine. "It is unconscionable to me to think that a church would be a place that you would even want to bring a weapon."
Phillips spoke out against a bill before the Arkansas General Assembly that would have permitted the carrying of guns in that state's churches. The bill failed in February.
Pagano, 50, said some members of his church were concerned that President Obama's administration could restrict gun ownership, and they supported the plan for the event when Pagano asked their opinion.
Marian McClure Taylor, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, an umbrella organization for 11 Christian denominations in Kentucky, said Christian churches are promoters of peace, but "most allow for arms to be taken up under certain conditions."
Taylor said Pagano assured her the event would focus on promoting responsible gun ownership and any proceeds would go to charity.
"Those two commitments are consistent with the high value the Assemblies of God churches place on human life," she said in an e-mail message.
Pagano is encouraging church members to bring a canned good and a friend to the event. He said guns must be unloaded for insurance purposes and safety reasons.
He said the point was not to mix worship with guns, though he may reference some passages from the Bible.
"Firearms can be evil and they can be useful," he said. "We're just trying to promote responsible gun ownership and gun safety."

 

[AFA1CY]

The guns must be unloaded and private security will check visitors at the door, Pagano said.
He said recent church shootings, including the killing Sunday of a late-term abortion provider in Kansas, which he condemned, highlight the need to promote safe gun ownership.

So we are defending the church with unloaded guns?

 

[henktermaat]

Bring-Your-Gun-to-Church-Day

Bring-Your-Gun-to-Church-Day

Bring-Your-Gun-to-Church-Day -- Politics Daily

In Louisville, Kentucky, pastor Ken Pagano preaches the good news of the Gospel -- and of the Second Amendment. Pagano has invited his flock to bring firearms to church as part of the church community's Independence Day celebration.

The Assemblies of God pastor's plans for the event are undeterred by the recent killing of abortion doctor George Tiller in the lobby of his church in Wichita. Pagano says his agenda is to promote gun safety, and all weapons brought into New Bethel Church must be unloaded.
Pagano's plan may indicate the rise of a new phenomenon in American religion: the NRA Christian. But even putting aside the Sermon on the Mount and such biblical imagery as the beating of swords into plowshares, one must question whether an embrace of guns is the best way to claim a national identity and celebrate our patriotism -- in or out of church. After all, the First Amendment protects freedom of religion; the Thirteenth Amendment outlaws slavery; the Nineteenth Amendment extends voting rights to women. Aren't any of these worthy of a July 4th picnic?
What disturbs me most about Pagano's bring-your-gun-to-church-day, however, is not the thought of Independence Day revelers enjoying a Second Amendment theme party, but the advent of NRA Christian evangelism. The murder of George Tiller was particularly eerie because he was shot and killed in his church. Christian churches have long been considered places of peace, and sanctuaries from societal violence. When this presumption of sanctuary becomes violated -- from Archbishop Thomas Becket's murder in 1170 in Canterbury Cathedral to the 1980 slaying of Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero -- there is a sense that our worship has been desecrated. Francis Ford Coppola's juxtapositions of a wedding and a christening with ruthless violence in the Godfather films were brilliantly powerful for just this reason.
The first time I saw a sign on the door of a business stating that guns were not permitted on the premises, I laughed at the absurdity of it: "Well, that will sure keep the shooters out of here!" But I'm not laughing anymore. No, a sign won't keep the shooters out, but it will convey a message about safety and the value of non-violence. There was a time when such a sign would not have needed to be posted on a church door. Not any more.

 

[henktermaat]

Some of the comments are real rich...

 

[Spot Me 2]

I bring mine with me every Sunday!!!!

 

[henktermaat]

Loaded... Or, what's the point.

 

[esrice]

I just merged 4 threads into this one! lol

 

[IN_Varmntr]

I bring mine with me every Sunday!!!!

This.

 

[theweakerbrother]

I've always carried to church and I don't think anyone has even known it!

 

[mettle]

They better be careful. There is a fine line between politics and what can be said over a pulpit.

 

[VN Vet]

The Pastor said nothing about a loaded magazine in the pocket or sock. I agree with an unloaded firearm being useless, but I think what the Pastor is doing is a start. And I for one, think it is a good thing - to start with something.

In some communities where OC or CC is not as common, small steps forward is better than no steps forward. I think the Pastor is making small steps forward.

My opinion only.

 

[Biohazard]

From the folks at the church

My e-mail:
This is a great idea. I wish more people would see the sense that this makes. Please make this a regular occurrence.

The response:
nbcadmin@newbethelchurchky.org wrote:
Thanks for support. I am already calling on other churches to do the same thing on this date and make the last Saturday of June a nationwide, annual event. Same theme next year.
kbp

 

[theweakerbrother]

They better be careful. There is a fine line between politics and what can be said over a pulpit.

You can do both if you aren't registered with Uncle Sam as a legal non-profit entity!

 

[rhino]

Wise individuals who carry openly will also often to choose to carry other important items in a manner that is not quite as obvious. I suppose this could help ameliorate the emotional and other issues associated with an exposed, empty pistol in a holster.

 

[kgeb]

I carry a 5 7 every sunday with 2 mags and the pastor is aware of It and has no issues. one Wndsday night they had a bring your gun to church night I was working but I told my wife she should get my sons wagon and put the 1919a4 on it and wheel it around