{"id":30199,"date":"2017-11-27T05:45:08","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T10:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=30199"},"modified":"2017-11-26T21:18:51","modified_gmt":"2017-11-27T02:18:51","slug":"an-lcms-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2017\/11\/an-lcms-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"An LCMS Murder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"crime-64067_1280\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A man identified as the\u00a0\u201cyouth pastor\u201d of Grace Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Chester, Virginia, shot to death his wife,\u00a0his step-daughter, and her boyfriend on Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

First of all, the perpetrator, Christopher R. Gattis, 58, is NOT a pastor of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.\u00a0 His name is not on the roster of synod, which means he is not a member of the ordained ministry, nor is he commissioned as a called teacher, director of Christian education, or lay minister.<\/p>\n

Apparently, the congregation hired him to work with its youth, then gave him the title.\u00a0 (If anyone knows differently, please say so in the comments, but I could find no trace of him in the synod directories.)<\/p>\n

\n

Nor was this a case of \u201cchurch violence.\u201d\u00a0 The murders took place at Gattis\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

Not that this mitigates in any way the horror of what happened.\u00a0\u00a0But it is another example of domestic conflict exploding into violence, even among church goers.<\/a><\/p>\n

Slain were\u00a0\u00a0Jeanett Gattis (58), her daughter Candice Kunze (30), and\u00a0her boyfriend, Andrew Buthorn (36).\u00a0 Gattis was arrested and is in custody.\u00a0 The motive is not clear.<\/p>\n

For more details, go here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of course this is heartbreaking for the church.\u00a0 And I am sure that it is especially traumatic for the youth whom he was leading.\u00a0 Here is the statement released by the congregation.\u00a0 From Chester youth pastor is charged in Thanksgiving triple homicide at his home<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMembers of Grace Lutheran Church are deeply saddened by the loss of life last night as a result of three individuals being shot in Chester, and this tragedy included members of Grace Lutheran Church,\u201d the church said in a statement that requested privacy for the family and its congregation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cGrace Lutheran Church has experienced many hardships over the years, but this heartbreak has unique challenges. Grace Lutheran Church asks for the prayers from the community as our congregation begins the process of addressing the grief being experienced by everyone involved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A man identified as the\u00a0\u201cyouth pastor\u201d of Grace Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Chester, Virginia, shot to death his wife,\u00a0his step-daughter, and her boyfriend on Thanksgiving. First of all, the perpetrator, Christopher R. Gattis, 58, is NOT a pastor of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.\u00a0 His name is not on the roster of synod, which means […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":30202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,600],"tags":[5930,5904,1340,5931,2318],"class_list":["post-30199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church","category-crime","tag-chester","tag-domestic-violence","tag-lutheran-church-missouri-synod","tag-murders","tag-virginia"],"yoast_head":"\nAn LCMS Murder<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The "youth pastor" of an LCMS church murdered his wife, stepdaughter, and her boyfriend. 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