Tag Archives: violent death

Freedom to Worship? Shooting of Pastor in Worship Service Causing Grief and Bereavement for All

23556413_BG1

Is it true that religion, or the church is to be a “safe haven” for individuals, a place where they can go and experience freedom and peace? Not for this Louisiana congregation on September 29th, 2013, as Pastor Ronald J. Harris, Sr. of Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center was shot and killed in the middle of a worship service. This situation is disturbing not only because it is yet another case of gun violence, but because this is a horribly “bad” death, and social and moral lines have been crossed yet again. These questions that comes to mind is: is anywhere safe? Shouldn’t the church be exempt from these heartless killings?

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2013/09/29/sheriff-office-pastor-shot-twice-killing/9ik3bg2qJ9GzcxUGV9nh5M/story.html

For many, the church is they go in order to bury their dead or grieve the loss of the dead. For the congregation of Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center, the church was where they witness the violent death of their pastor. Culturally this is unheard of and is a horrifying death for all involved. The suspect, Woodrow Karey, was said to have been an ex-deacon for Tabernacle of Praise who left the church more than 5 years ago. The reason for this aggression is unknown and has left the entire congregation, especially the victim’s children and grandchildren reeling and confused. Despite his death his daughter continued to speak highly of him, even after death- His 31 year-old-daughter spoke of his saint like qualities, and said that he would say to his gunman, “I forgive you and I love you.”

This type of death goes beyond ethical boundaries for me. The church should be a place where they experience life, not death. This tragedy meets multiple criteria of a bad death: it was unexpected, in a public place, a result of great violence, and “unwarranted.” This pastor was greatly loved and respected in the community, and ‘m sure  is a tragic experience to witness your spiritual leader shot twice and killed in front of you. In putting myself in the shoes of a witness of the shooting, I would be both scared and enraged. What would make a man come into a church service and kill a man, who was in the act of worshiping, in front of everyone, even women and children? The question is why? Why would someone do such a thing?

Well, that is what everyone in this Louisiana church is wondering as well. We live in a culture where we want to know the cause of death and it is important in the mourning process to know this information. It brings about closure. It is also these type of violent deaths that cause a great grief and a sense of bereavement among those who loved the victim. In this case, not only his family will experience great loss, but the church immediately is without a pastor. This causes a great sense of functional loss as well as an emotional loss as well for those who knew this pastor. Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

Guilty Conscience: Accidentally Killing your Son

Imagine going to your sister’s house to investigate a possible intruder. After a brief struggle with the intruder, you fire your weapon and the intruder collapses. You immediately pull off the mask of the intruder only to find that the intruder is your son. This seems more like an urban legend than actual reality but this is just what happened in Connecticut last month. Jeffrey Giuliano who lived next door to his sister hurried to his sister’s house one night after receiving a frantic phone call that someone was trying to break into her house. Upon walking outside, he saw the intruder, who was holding a knife and quickly discharged the firearm after an intimidating confrontation. Unbeknownst to him it was Tyler Giuliano.
Grieving is a natural part of losing a loved one but with grief comes several other emotions. Accidental death is traumatic. It conjures feelings of guilt because the question of prevention seems to arise. Guilt is an expected stage of grief but it takes a more profound role when one assumes the responsibility for someone’s death. In this case, Giuliano’s accidental murder of his son is most traumatic because it could have been prevented.
Who was at fault? Was it the teen’s mistake because he pretended to burglarize his aunt’s home and charge toward his father in an intimidating way? On the other hand, was it the father’s fault for taking things into his own hands and not letting the police handle the problem? One thing for certain is that a life was lost at an unfortunate cost. A little prank cost Tyler Giuliano his life; and Jeffrey Giuliano’s attempt to protect himself and his sister cost him his son’s life.
I think that this is a tragic event. Not only did Jeffrey Giuliano lose his son but also he has lost his peace of mind. I can only imagine the emotions running through his mind. Guilt, sadness, depression, even thoughts of suicide may be issues that he struggles with for the rest of his life. Death is already hard to deal with. Adding guilt or responsibility to the death of a loved one makes it even more difficult to carry on. How will he carry on? I assume that Jeffrey Giuliano will seek counseling to help overcome the extreme feelings of guilt. The worst part of this entire situation is that there will always be unanswered questions. This tragic event does however serve as a warning for others who think of playing similar pranks.

http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2012/09/connecticut-man-kills-suspected-masked-burglar-who-turns-out-to-be-his-teen-son-2491972.html

Robin Walker