George Carlin

I'm not worried about guns in school. You know what I'm
waiting for? Guns in church. That's gonna be a lot of fun. And it'll
happen.
You watch. Some nut will go ****in' ape**** in church, and they'll
refer to
him as a "disgruntled worshipper."


It just happened:

Man Kills 7, Self at Wis. Church Service
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050313/D88POCR81.html

Technically it wasn't a church.

tis the season for a house cleaning.

In
ups.com
posted on 12 Mar 2005 22:48:36 -0800,
wrote:

I'm not worried about guns in school. You know what I'm
waiting for? Guns in church. That's gonna be a lot of fun. And it'll
happen.
You watch. Some nut will go ****in' ape**** in church, and they'll
refer to
him as a "disgruntled worshipper."


It just happened:

Man Kills 7, Self at Wis. Church Service
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050313/D88POCR81.html

Technically it wasn't a church.

True, and even more interesting the "religion" wasn't
identified. Anything can be registered as a religion in the
USA. There is even a Church of Satan.

Anyone have any details on the denomination?

Regards,
"nilkids"
[posting from alt.support.childfree]

wrote:
Technically it wasn't a church.

True, and even more interesting the "religion" wasn't
identified. Anything can be registered as a religion in the
USA. There is even a Church of Satan.

Anyone have any details on the denomination?

No, but I have heard that it was a group that focused on the "end
times", for whatever that's worth.

A Quote from CNN:
"They were members of the Living Church of God, an international
evangelical denomination based in Charlotte, North Carolina."

I don't think they focus on the end times, but apparently he was upset
because the preacher had talked about the 'end of days' in a recent
sermon.

He must have been a very convincing preacher.

Ezzy

wrote:
I'm not worried about guns in school. You know what I'm
waiting for? Guns in church. That's gonna be a lot of fun. And
it'll
happen.
You watch. Some nut will go ****in' ape**** in church, and they'll
refer to
him as a "disgruntled worshipper."


It just happened:

Man Kills 7, Self at Wis. Church Service
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050313/D88POCR81.html

Technically it wasn't a church.


it was where they held their sevices. a church isn't just a building.

Ezzy wrote:
A Quote from CNN:
"They were members of the Living Church of God, an international
evangelical denomination based in Charlotte, North Carolina."

I don't think they focus on the end times, but apparently he was upset
because the preacher had talked about the 'end of days' in a recent
sermon.

He must have been a very convincing preacher.

Ah, I just heard it in passing and wasn't paying close attention. Ok.

In posted on
Mon, 14 Mar 2005 22:29:44 GMT, The Dave© wrote:

wrote:
Technically it wasn't a church.

True, and even more interesting the "religion" wasn't
identified. Anything can be registered as a religion in the
USA. There is even a Church of Satan.

Anyone have any details on the denomination?

No, but I have heard that it was a group that focused on the "end
times", for whatever that's worth.

Possibly significant, possibly not. Thanks for the info,
though!

Can anyone provide more exact info?

It could be very significant, of course!

Regards,
"nilkids"

"Ezzy" wrote in message
ps.com...
A Quote from CNN:
"They were members of the Living Church of God, an international
evangelical denomination based in Charlotte, North Carolina."

I don't think they focus on the end times, but apparently he was upset
because the preacher had talked about the 'end of days' in a recent
sermon.

He must have been a very convincing preacher.

Actually, the church focus was "end-time prophecies". The sermon that
supposedly upset him 2 weeks before was about "that people's problems are of
their own making".

The source of my info was an AP article in my afternoon paper. Below is the
article.

Lori =^.^=

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/Stories/...761969,00.html

'Totally senseless' -- 7 people dead
By RYAN NAKASHIMA The Associated Press

Monday, March 14, 2005 - and JULIET WILLIAMS
BROOKFIELD, Wis. -- It was just another weekend service for churchgoers in a
suburban Milwaukee hotel when, without warning, they were attacked by one of
their own.

Now, victims' relatives are struggling to keep their faith and find answers.

"This is a totally senseless thing," said Jeff Miller, whose brother,
Gerald, 44, died shielding an elderly woman, who survived.
"He was a great guy. He didn't deserve to die."
Terry Ratzmann, a churchgoer known for sharing homegrown vegetables with his
neighbors, walked into the room and police said he fired 22 rounds from a 9
mm handgun within a minute, killing seven people.

None of those who knew him expected Ratzmann to be violent. Neighbors said
he was quiet and devout, that he liked to tinker about his house and garden.
He would even release the chipmunks caught in traps he set in his yard.

But Saturday, the Sabbath for the Living Church of God, Ratzmann turned on
worshippers.

"He wasn't a dark guy. He was average Joe," said Shane Colwell, a neighbor
who knew Ratzmann for about a decade. "It's not like he ever pushed his
beliefs on anyone else."

The 44-year-old computer technician lived with his mother and sister in a
modest home about two miles from the hotel where police say he opened fire
during service.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based Living Church of God is a denomination that grew
out of a schism in the Worldwide Church of God, formed in 1933, and focuses
on "end-time" prophecies.

This year, the group's leader, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith, wrote that events
prophesied in the Bible are "beginning to occur with increasing frequency."
The church has an estimated 6,300 members in 40 countries.

Ratzmann himself regularly attended the gatherings at the Sheraton hotel --
the Milwaukee-area church group did not have a building of its own. But
member Chandra Frazier said he walked out of a recent sermon "sort of in a
huff." The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today the Feb. 26 sermon that
upset Ratzmann had made the point that people's problems are of their own
making.

Between 50 to 60 people were at the weekly meeting, and anyone in Ratzmann's
path appeared to be a target. He allegedly dropped a magazine and reloaded
another.

When it was over, seven people, including the church's minister and his
teenage son, were killed and four others wounded. Ratzmann, 44, had shot
himself; he sat slumped against the back wall with four rounds left in his
gun, police said.

Although he left no suicide note and gave no explanation for the killings,
investigators said Ratzmann was on the verge of losing his job. It was
unclear what prompted the slayings.

Ratzmann went to church every Saturday, Colwell said, and had lived in the
same house his entire life. But another neighbor called Ratzmann a drinker,
and church members said he struggled with depression.

They didn't have that much info when they posted the CNN article. I
got the impression from what the survivors were saying that their focus
was something else. But then they had just been involved in a massacre
so it's understandable they were in shock.

Thanks for the info!

Ezzy