{"id":6211,"date":"2012-03-22T10:17:11","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T15:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theamericanjesus.net\/?p=6211"},"modified":"2012-03-22T10:17:11","modified_gmt":"2012-03-22T15:17:11","slug":"wisconsin-church-offers-service-for-sex-offenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/zackhunt\/2012\/03\/wisconsin-church-offers-service-for-sex-offenders\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Church Offers Service For Sex Offenders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story is absolutely fascinating to me.<\/p>\n

Forget about \u201ccontemporary\u201d and \u201ctraditional\u201d services.<\/p>\n

A church in Wisconsin has now created a service targeted specifically at registered sex offenders since, by law, they can\u2019t be around children and, let\u2019s be honest, most \u201cupstanding\u201d church members wouldn\u2019t want to share a pew with them anyway.<\/p>\n

Apparently, they haven\u2019t had anyone attend yet, but they\u2019re going to keep at it.<\/p>\n

For those on the outside of the church, and many within her doors, this idea probably sounds a bit reprehensible. After all, you don\u2019t get much worse than someone who sexually abuses a child, or anyone else for that matter. Shouldn\u2019t we be locking our doors and pointing them out in public as the devil incarnate?<\/p>\n

So, what is this church thinking?<\/p>\n

Well, and I know you may not like it and I\u2019m not completely comfortable with it myself, I think what this church is doing is trying to be like Jesus.<\/p>\n

I think they\u2019re trying to take seriously God\u2019s call to take care of and minister to the outcast, even when that outcast is someone who is sick and has been in prison.<\/p>\n

Like it our not, perfect or not, I think this church is trying to live out the kingdom of God on earth by extending grace and forgiveness to those who need it the most.<\/p>\n

It might seem easy to criticize this church, but how exactly would we go about doing that?<\/p>\n

Do we tell them that sex offenders don\u2019t deserve grace and forgiveness?<\/p>\n

I hope not, because last time I checked, neither do any of us.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Church offers service for sex offenders \u2014 and gets no\u00a0takers<\/h2>\n

By\u00a0Larry Mcshane\u00a0\/ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS<\/p>\n


\nA Wisconsin church offered a special church service for convicted sex offenders \u2014 but none of the sinners showed for their shot at spiritual redemption.<\/em><\/p>\n

The First Congregational Church of Christ opened its doors for the first service on Feb. 23, only to find no worshippers from its target audience appeared.<\/em><\/p>\n

Undeterred, the Madison-based church will continue the program every other Thursday through May.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe truly want to be a church where everyone is welcome,\u201d parishioner\u00a0Susan Heneman\u00a0told the Wisconsin State Journal. \u201cWe have to live this out, not just say it on paper.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The program is an extension of the parish\u2019s Prison Ministry, which typically works with those still behind bars.<\/em><\/p>\n

The church bans all children from the church building during the services \u2014 a move that allows the sex offenders to attend without violating the terms of their release.<\/em><\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 This story is absolutely fascinating to me. Forget about \u201ccontemporary\u201d and \u201ctraditional\u201d services. A church in Wisconsin has now created a service targeted specifically at registered sex offenders since, by law, they can\u2019t be around children and, let\u2019s be honest, most \u201cupstanding\u201d church members wouldn\u2019t want to share a pew with them anyway. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3437,"featured_media":6213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWisconsin Church Offers Service For Sex Offenders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    This story is absolutely fascinating to me. Forget about "contemporary" and "traditional" services. 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