BALTIMORE (ELCA)-- A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) whose sister was brutally murdered, and who later witnessed the execution of her murderer, told a story of forgiveness to a national symposium on criminal justice here Jan. 22-24.
Ron Carlson's sister, Deborah, was one of two people brutally murdered by Karla Faye Tucker and an accomplice. Tucker became a nationally prominent death row inmate before her execution Feb. 3, 1998, in Texas. =20
"I stood over Karla Fay Tucker's casket just as I stood over my sister's," said Carlson, a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Houston. "I felt the reality of death and said to myself, 'This can't be right.'"
In an unrelated incident, Carlson's natural father was murdered about a year later.
Carlson was the keynote speaker at the Bob Domer Memorial Symposium on Criminal Justice. The conference was sponsored by the Social Ministries for Congregations program of the ELCA Division for Congregational Ministries. The ELCA Division for Church in Society and the regional ELCA Working Group on Criminal Justice also sponsored the symposium.
Despite an initial desire for retribution, Carlson said he began reading a Bible which belonged to his father.=20
"I asked God to take the pain away and to replace it with love joined by passion so that I could forgive the people who destroyed my family," he told the audience, with a slight tremor in his voice.=20
In 1991 he confronted Tucker, who had already been sentenced to death, offering her his forgiveness. Between that first meeting and Tucker's execution, Carlson said he developed a relationship with his sister's killer and a steadfast belief that the death penalty doesn't solve any problems.=20
"It sure didn't bring my sister back that night they killed Karla," he said.
About 100 people from the ELCA and other denominations active in criminal justice ministry registered for the conference. It focused on congregation-based criminal justice ministry, said Loretta Horton, ELCA director for Social Ministries for Congregations.=20
In addition to a series of plenary sessions featuring speakers such as Dr. Henry G. Covert, United Church of Christ minister and author of "Ministry to the Incarcerated," participants chose from workshops dealing with volunteer recruitment and nurture, human rights and the criminal justice system, meeting the needs of women in transition and abolishing capital punishment.
The Rev. Orville Nyblade, retired ELCA pastor, attended the symposium on behalf of his congregation, Christ Lutheran Church, Gettysburg, Pa. =20
Actively involved with the congregation's social ministry committee, Nyblade said he expected to learn some pointers for the congregation's work at the county prison through the Pennsylvania Prison Society.=20
T. Milton Nelson, a member of New Hope Lutheran Church, Columbia, Md., attended as a result of his five-year stint as a Bible study leader at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women.
He said his enthusiasm for prison ministry comes from his observation that "the women were so eager and their participation was so active."=20
Waetina Coles, a member of All Saints Lutheran Church, Baltimore, and Peg Sheeler, Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Eldersburg, Md., attended in conjunction with their volunteer work for the ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod.=20
"We'll serve as resource people for synod congregations looking for models for prison ministry," Coles said.
The conference included a special tribute to Robert Domer, former chairperson of the Interreligious Taskforce on Criminal Justice and member of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. A member of the ELCA, Domer served on the task force that helped develop the social statement opposing the death penalty which the church adopted in 1991.
Domer was wrongly accused and convicted of murder in 1963 and appealed the death penalty portion of his sentence. A second trial resulted in dismissal of all charges. Until his death in January 1998, Domer dedicated his life to abolishing the death penalty.
[*Linda Lovell is communications coordinator for the ELCA's Delaware-Maryla=
nd Synod.]
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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