After weeks of media hype and buildup, a Pentecostal pastor in Kentucky fulfilled his vision last Saturday by seeing his church full of people praising … and packing heat. Only for Ken Pagano, pastor of New Bethel Church in Louisville, Ky., this was less about praising God and more about celebrating a Second Amendment right to carry firearms.
Saturday's "Open Carry Celebration" featured more than 200 attendees, most of who sat in church pews with unloaded guns strapped to their hips. But despite media outlets from around the world buzzing about the "guns and God" connection, Pagano made certain people understood the point of this meeting.
“This event is not taking place on the Lord’s day,” Pagano explained on New Bethel's Web site. “This is not a church worship service, where the focus is on Jesus and our responsibility to Him. Rather, this is merely a church-hosted event, similar to any other event that any other church may do to celebrate their heritage.”
Pagano got the idea after hearing several of his congregants voice concern over the Obama administration's views on gun control. Three weeks ago he preached a sermon called, "God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry,” and during Saturday's 90-minute program he met applause after declaring, “But for a deep-seated belief in God and firearms, this country would not be here today.”
As expected, however, not everyone believes those two elements should be combined at church. Across town a coalition of peace and church groups held a separate yet simultaneous—and gun-free—event. Terry Taylor, one of the counter event's organizers, says, "The idea of wearing guns to churches or any sacred space—I think many people find deeply troubling."
Interestingly enough, Pagano's insurance company thought the same thing, declining to cover the Open Carry Celebration and telling him his church policy wouldn't be renewed. [AP, 6/27/09; csmonitor, 6/27/09]
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