Following news of a tragic shooting that left two dead in a Central American church, Church of God General Overseer Mark L. Williams has issued a call for prayer. The incident happened in a Church of God of Prophecy congregation in a Guatemala City suburb called La Perez Guisasola, when a gunman burst into the Saturday evening service, killing two and wounding several others.
“Once again the body of Christ has been violated by a senseless act of slaughter,” Dr. Williams declared. “While we do not yet know the connection of the shooter with the congregation, or the motive for the shooting, we can state clearly that an action like this is completely alien and antithetical to the purpose of the church, which is to bring good news of salvation and grace to a hurting world.”
Further details about the occurrence are not yet available, but the Reverend Ben Feliz, general presbyter for Mexico, Central America, and the Spanish Caribbean for the Church of God of Prophecy, has asked members to pray for the family and friends of those who were murdered and for the congregation. Dr. Williams has echoed the call to intercession and is requesting that the Church of God stand with their Church of God of Prophecy brothers and sisters in their time of grief.
The Guatemala church tragedy follows by three days a similar event in Charleston, South Carolina, when a young white man murdered nine black worshippers in a historically black church during a Wednesday night prayer meeting. It is not known if the Central American gunman might have been influenced by that incident.
The two church bodies—the Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy—have a common origin, both have their international offices in Cleveland, Tennessee, and they share a collegial relationship.