Gissendaner sings while executed K
elly Gissendaner, 47, fea- tured in the October issue of The Lutheran, was reportedly
singing “Amazing Grace” as she was put to death just after midnight Sept. 30 near Jackson, Ga. Gissendaner, who in 1997
planned the murder of her hus- band but did not kill him, was the first women to be put to death by the state of Georgia in 70 years. Her lawyers filed appeals to state and federal courts, including three to the U.S. Supreme Court, that failed. More than 90,000 people signed
a petition urging Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to halt the execution, claiming the mother of three had turned her life around and called her a “powerful voice for good.” A #kellyonmymind social media
of four organists chosen to play at the mass. When interviewed for her hometown newspaper in Fresno, Calif., her father Glenn Garbutt, also a musician, said his daughter would go under the family’s piano when he played. He said he knew early on she was meant to be an organist but never guessed one day she would play for the pope. (See also, page 59.)
The U.S. accounts for half of all annulments granted, though American Catholics are just 6 percent of the global Roman Catholic Church.
Gissendaner (left) and McBride.
campaign to save her life drew wide- spread activ- ism, including many ELCA members and seminarians.
Jennifer M. McBride, professor
at ELCA-affiliated Wartburg Col- lege, Waverly, Iowa, was Gissen- daner’s teacher in a prison seminary program. She gave public witness to Gissendaner’s personal and spiri- tual transformation and her witness and ministry behind prison walls. McBride’s Facebook post in the
early morning hours of Sept. 30 was simply: “Jesus turned to the thief on the cross and said, ‘TODAY, you will be with me in paradise.’ ”
Annulment reforms
Pope Francis announced in Septem- ber revisions to the Roman Catho- lic Church’s marriage annulment process. The new rules eliminate an automatic review of any “decree of nullity” by a second panel of church judges and provide for what is being called a “fast track” option that allows an annulment to be granted by the local bishop within 45 days if both spouses don’t oppose it. Annulment rulings can currently take up to a year or more and cost up to $1,000, though in the U. S. fees can be waived. Although the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t allow divorce, it has long recognized annulment when a marriage thought to be valid accord- ing to church law fell short of at least one of the essential elements required for a binding union.
Tweet for justice
Amneh Jafari , a native of Fort Worth, Texas, never expected to help spark an international movement. But when the senior psychology major
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www.thelutheran.org
at the University of Texas at Arling- ton saw a news photo of Ahmed Mohamed in handcuffs for bringing a homemade clock to MacArthur High School, Irving, Texas, it felt personal. “It really saddened me,” Jafari said. “I have younger siblings, and I felt like I was looking at them.” The 23-year-old tweeted a hashtag #IStandWithAhmed that went viral. “I felt like I needed to, I had to,” Jafari said. Two days later, her hashtag had been tweeted more than 1 mil- lion times. President Barack Obama invited Mohamed to the White House, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg invited him to his head- quarters. It shows the power of social media to give a voice to the voice- less, Jafari said. “To see that there’s so many good people in the world. … It means so much to see so many people stand for what’s right.”
LIRS hosts award gala
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service hosted the Walk of Courage Award Gala Oct. 28 at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. The event celebrated the journeys of people newly arrived to the U.S. and the differences they are making in their communities. Sonia Nazario, immigration advocate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, was the key- note. Mahnaz Afkhami was honored with the Walk of Courage Award for her lifetime of advocacy for human rights. Kenneth Senft, a retired ELCA pastor, received the Walk of Faith Award for his years of service to Lutheran ministries of welcome and justice. Elizabeth A. Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, was co-chair of the gala, along with Matthew Harrison, president of the Lutheran Church– Missouri Synod, and several U.S. senators and representatives.
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