CHICHESTER, N.H. – A pastor in this quiet, picturesque New England town thought he was doing the Christian thing when he took in a convicted child killer who had served his time but had nowhere to go. But some neighbors of the Rev. David Pinckney vehemently disagree, one even threatening to burn his house down after officials could find no one else willing to take 60-year-old Raymond Guay.
"Politicians think they can dump their trash in our small town," said one neighbor, Jon Morales, whose girlfriend and two children live across an unpaved road from Pinckney's home.
Chichester, a town of about 2,200 residents in south-central New Hampshire, has been in an uproar since the weekend, when police announced that Guay would spend two months with Pinckney's family.
About 40 angry residents protested outside the home Saturday, Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard said. One protester blustered that he wanted to set it on fire, he said....
Know what's scary? Look up the sex offender registry for your neighborhood! THAT is the stuff of nightmares!!!
Oh my goodness, you are so right! I looked up the list a few months back and I could Not believe how many lived within a 25 mile radius and the even scary thing is they looked normal. We just never know.
As long as the pastor doesn't live near me, I am fine with it.
NIMBY syndrome.
__________________ "I think some people love spiritual bondage just the way some people love physical bondage. It makes them feel secure. In the end though it is not healthy for the one who is lost over it or the one who is lives under the oppression even if by their own choice"
Titus2woman on AFF
"We did not wear uniforms. The lady workers dressed in the current fashions of the day, ...silks...satins...jewels or whatever they happened to possess. They were very smartly turned out, so that they made an impressive appearance on the streets where a large part of our work was conducted in the early years.
"It was not until long after, when former Holiness preachers had become part of us, that strict plainness of dress began to be taught.
"Although Entire Sanctification was preached at the beginning of the Movement, it was from a Wesleyan viewpoint, and had in it very little of the later Holiness Movement characteristics. Nothing was ever said about apparel, for everyone was so taken up with the Lord that mode of dress seemingly never occurred to any of us."
Quote from Ethel Goss (widow of 1st UPC Gen Supt. Howard Goss) book "The Winds of God"
I'm not being cavalier, but what's the guy supposed to do? The state released him. He needs a job and a place to live.
And if I did live next door to him, I'd be aware of the issue and never let my children out of my sight.
The pastor's first responsibility is not to the church or the community; it's to care for his family. Period. Endangering them in this way is beyond my comprehension. If it were just the pastor and his wife, I could understand--MAYBE.
This story puts my stomach in knots.
I believe we should do the Christian thing. I believe we should reach for the unreachable. However, common sense DOES come into play somewhere.
The pastor could rent a small house, for instance, in a different area, and stay with the man for the two months, and leave his wife and children safely at home. If it's that important to him, then he should minister and protect at the same time. Bringing the man into his home, and into a neighborhood with small children is just stupid. There are other options, and other ways to help.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
According to an article from the cabinet a local newspaper. When he was convicted N.H. had no laws allowing for the death penalty or life without parole. I dont know if the pastors actions are christ like. The article says the man has remained unremorseful. Tstew whats your opinion? I mean if the man has repented and is living for GOD...I say yea. But if he isnt I dont know?
Then the pastor is just being stupid. Overzealous and well-intentioned maybe, but still stupid.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
CHICHESTER, N.H. – A pastor in this quiet, picturesque New England town thought he was doing the Christian thing when he took in a convicted child killer who had served his time but had nowhere to go. But some neighbors of the Rev. David Pinckney vehemently disagree, one even threatening to burn his house down after officials could find no one else willing to take 60-year-old Raymond Guay.
"Politicians think they can dump their trash in our small town," said one neighbor, Jon Morales, whose girlfriend and two children live across an unpaved road from Pinckney's home.
Chichester, a town of about 2,200 residents in south-central New Hampshire, has been in an uproar since the weekend, when police announced that Guay would spend two months with Pinckney's family.
About 40 angry residents protested outside the home Saturday, Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard said. One protester blustered that he wanted to set it on fire, he said....
According to an article from the cabinet a local newspaper. When he was convicted N.H. had no laws allowing for the death penalty or life without parole. I dont know if the pastors actions are christ like. The article says the man has remained unremorseful. Tstew whats your opinion? I mean if the man has repented and is living for GOD...I say yea. But if he isnt I dont know?
ReddMann, I'm sorry. I just saw your question. I personally don't believe I would do what the pastor did because ultimately I would be making that decision for a lot of people. Whoever lives in my house and my neighborhood would have the decision made for them by me.
I'm just wondering about the bigger issue of repentance and forgiveness. Is there ever a time as Christians when we need to absolutely consider someones past sins a non-issue. Or if not a non-issue, a time when we need to show uncommon grace, forgiveness, and embracing of the ones that society will not.
Of course, if this man is unremorseful, its all a moot point. However, what about the ones who are sincerely repentant?
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
The pastor's first responsibility is not to the church or the community; it's to care for his family. Period. Endangering them in this way is beyond my comprehension. If it were just the pastor and his wife, I could understand--MAYBE.
This story puts my stomach in knots.
I believe we should do the Christian thing. I believe we should reach for the unreachable. However, common sense DOES come into play somewhere.
The pastor could rent a small house, for instance, in a different area, and stay with the man for the two months, and leave his wife and children safely at home. If it's that important to him, then he should minister and protect at the same time. Bringing the man into his home, and into a neighborhood with small children is just stupid. There are other options, and other ways to help.
I would agree that the pastor bringing the ex-convict into his house with children is not a good idea. But I still think we need some compassion for people that have been released from prison. They need somewhere to live. And everyone saying not by me doesn't address the issue.
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