When Jesus said, “come as you are,” I seriously doubt he meant it was OK to bring your taser and Rambo knife to worship. I mean why would he? Sitting in the house of the Lord – a place of love – one would think would be the last place for any violence, right? But that’s just me; what do I know. Besides, it’s not like hypocrisy and religious expression are immune to each other, right?
MOBILE COUNTY, Alabama — A minister of music at a church in the St. Elmo community Tased the pastor who had just fired him Sunday, touching off a fight and various knife slashings, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Mobile County deputies were called just after 1 p.m. to New Welcome Baptist Church in the 8600 block of Boe Road.
The mayhem erupted when the Rev. Darryl Riley told minister of music Simone Moore that he was no longer needed and gave him a final paycheck, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Moore disagreed with the amount of the check and an argument broke out, in which Moore wielded a Taser gun, according to the account given to deputies.
Several church members became involved, including Agolia Moore, the music minister’s mother, who suffered a stab wound at the hands of a deacon, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The deacon was identified as Harvey Hunt.
People hurt in the fight were treated at a hospital and released to go home, officials said.
A warrant for second-degree assault was signed on Moore, while Hunt was the subject of a warrant alleging third-degree assault.
Moore and Riley told dueling versions of the events to a Press-Register reporter who spoke with them Monday.
Moore, with bandages on his forehead and right hand, acknowledged that he had a Taser, but denied using it on Riley.
When asked why he was carrying a Taser on Sunday, Moore said, “I didn’t trust the situation.”
Moore said he was ready to leave as minister of music, but wanted to give two weeks notice and get paid for that time. He maintained that the chairman of the deacon board agreed to that arrangement.
On the real? I wish I was there to see this shit…
Moore’s description of the Sunday events was as follows: He was asked to meet with the pastor and deacons after services and was told he was being let go. His mother went with him into the meeting. The deacons told her to leave, but Moore told her to stay put. A deacon wrote Moore a check for $300 and handed it to him. Moore said the amount was incorrect.
Moore said that two deacons told him that they would not pay another $600 that he believed was due him.
He claimed that the men grabbed him and he struggled with them, and that Hunt pulled out a knife with a black handle,
He said that his mother, Agolia, ran for help, bringing back his 53-year-old brother.
Moore said that he received cuts to his forehead and little finger on his right hand that required a combined nine stitches. He said that his mother received 19 stitches for a stab wound to her hand.
Moore said that he had served as the minister of music for six years. A Mobile County public school special education teacher, Moore ran for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2010.
OK, so am I wrong, or did this dude really expect to get an extra $600 or the equivalent of two weeks service? Sorry pal; but giving a two weeks notice doesn’t make a company (or a church for that matter) obligated to keep your ass. But obviously I’m sure he knew this hence the reason for packing a taser. I mean really? Why else would you feel the need to “protect” yourself at church?
But of course their’s always two sides to a story…
Riley, New Welcome’s pastor, has a different recollection of Sunday’s events: The meeting with Moore was held in the conference room in the church’s all-purpose building. Riley said that Moore became angry and demanded another $600.
“The deacons and myself said we were not going to pay him because this Sunday was supposed to be his last. Once you are terminated, we are no longer under any obligation for any other funds to be paid to an employee,” Riley said.
“At that point, he pointed the Taser at me.”
Riley said he was Tased twice on his left arm. He said that Moore also struck Hunt in the head with a money box. Hunt received two cuts that required 32 stitches, he said.
Riley said that Agolia Moore would not have been injured if she had left the meeting. He said he believes she was cut by a knife that Simone Moore’s brother was carrying.
“He had a long, 18-inch knife. I believe it was her son that cut her because he was swinging erratically,” Riley said.
When asked whether it might have been more prudent to send Moore a termination letter with the check inside, Riley answered, “I would have taken that approach, but the deacons wanted to meet with him privately and in person, and I yielded to their suggestion.”
Oh well, God fearinf or not, the participants in this latest display of fuckery are indeed human. And as hard as times are right now with the economy, and as long as God gotta have his ten percent. I’m sure even small churches are having to have cutbacks. So don’t be ashamed by the actions of these people, my Christian readers. Remember, even Jesus got gangsta by kicking folks out of his daddy’s house. That said, I suppose this was justified in his eyes. They don’t call this church “New Welcome” for nothing, I suppose; yep, come as you are indeed; just leave the pistols at home.
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