Today's video comes from Tennessee. She has the following to say about how the church is ALIVE to her...
On February 4, 2009, prisoner Steve Henley was executed in Nasvhille, Tennessee. A brief statement from the website www.stevehenley.org sums up the unjust nature of the case:Thanks for your submission! We here at thechurchisalive.com are dedicated to representing any and all who feel the church is alive in their area. Send us your video today!
"Two men were implicated in the murder of Fred and Edna Stafford. One served five years in prison.
The other received the death penalty."
The 171st General Assembly of the PC(USA) states: "capital punishment cannot be condoned by an interpretation of the Bible based upon the revelation of God's love in Jesus Christ," and calls on Christians to "seek the redemption of evil doers and not their death." The statement goes on to say "the use of the death penalty tends to brutalize the society that condones it." (This statement can be found here, as well as other resources regarding general facts about the PC(USA))
On February 3, some Presbyterian friends and I attended a candlelight vigil outside the prison until 1:00 in the morning when Steve Henley was executed by lethal injection. We prayed for clemency until the very last moment.
This was a very powerful experience for me in my faith. TCASK, or Tennessee Coalition Against State Killing, organized the candlelight vigil. Stacey Rector, the executive director for TCASK, was the associate pastor for my church (Second Presbyterian in Nashville, Tennessee) until she felt that her call was to lead this organization (here is a brief article on her decision to join TCASK).
I say it was a powerful experience in my faith because this was not just gathering of Presbyterians. There were people from all walks of life attending this vigil for Steve Henley and we all were able to put differences aside to join together and be present for Steve Henley's final moments.
I think the Presbyterian Church is alive in moments such as these, when we are able to gather with our brothers and sisters of other faiths and beliefs and yet who share this world with us to stand up for what we believe in. When we show the world that, despite our differences, we love each other, and simply do the right thing in this crazy world in which we live, we fill our church with life.
