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A community and a congregation are in shock over the arrest of a minister on child sex charges. 67-year-old Dennis Hayes, a pastor at St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Watertown, South Dakota, is charged with 3 counts of sexual contact with a minor. Court records state that Hayes molested a boy in southwest Minnesota. That case led Watertown police to Hayes' home where investigators say they found child pornography on his computer.

Hayes has been placed on administrative leave by his church. While his parishioners hope and pray that the charges aren't true.

The arrest of a man of God on child sex charges has shaken a congregation to its core. Allen Steinmetz said, "It's very heartbreaking to our family."

Allen Steinmetz is a lifelong member of St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Watertown who says suspect, and pastor, Dennis Hayes would go out of his way to help families in need. Steinmetz and his wife MarKay raised two daughters under Hayes' ministerial care. "He baptized our children, we go to St. Martin' Church."

Hayes' wife babysat the two Steinmetz kids. Daughter Keanna speaks glowingly of the pastor she grew up with. "He's a good guy, he's a good counselor, and he's patient and understanding."

Police say their investigation into Hayes is "ongoing." But they aren't saying if other victims are involved. Troy Van Dusen, of the Watertown Police Department said, "It's a tough case, it's tough for everyone involved, but we have to treat it equally with every other case we work."

As the investigation moves along, church members like Steinmetz are placing their faith in their pastor and the judicial system. "And when this whole thing goes through, I hope he's proven innocent... it's just very hard."

I spoke by phone today with Pastor Hayes. He said his attorney told him not to discuss the case publicly.

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Comments:
Blogger skep said...
well thats christianity for you. and they talk about morality!
what a crock !!


Blogger DUG853 said...
Dang IT-!

Look for the 'wolf' in the 'flock' I suppose.


Blogger Surrender17 said...
the problem here is, everyone is sinful, and everyone is liar at some point in their life. just because someone says or plays out their life as a christian, doesn't make them one. so, you have nothing to prove that christianity and God are a fraud. you just have sinful people, and all that proves is the human race has imperfections; not because of God, but because we chose to be. unless you've experienced being a true christian, you know nothing of it.


Blogger stronger now said...
"the problem here is, everyone is sinful..."

Nope. No one has ever "sinned".

There must be shown a god to actually "sin" against in order to "sin". So you must first show that there is a god. So far you have failed. THAT'S the problem.

"just because someone says or plays out their life as a christian, doesn't make them one."

Glad you agree that someone who professes to be a christian should't be grouped with the "real" christians.(P.S. how do you distinguish between a "backsliding" christian, a poser, someone who believes the wrong things,and True Believers™?)

" so, you have nothing to prove that christianity and God are a fraud."

Don't jump to conclusions so soon. You have yet to provide evidence that a god exists, let alone evidence that said deity is the one described in the bible. There could very well be a god but there is no credible evidence for one. There is good reason to believe that the christian god cannot exist because that god is logically inconsistent as it has been described thus far. One should expect better out of a deity of any import, don't you think?

"unless you've experienced being a true christian, you know nothing of it."

And how are we to tell if you are a True Christian™, hmm?

Perhaps you are a poser with no credibility. I'm sure that some of your beliefs run contrary to what someone else deems necessary to call yourself a true christian™.

But keep telling yourself it's real, clap your hands and believe, click your heels together three times and say:

there's no such thing as an exchristian...

there's no such thing as an exchristian...

there's no such thing as an exchristian...


Perhaps, if you believe it enough it'll come true.

Try wishing on a star. Or, rubbing a lucky rabbits foot.

Whatever gets you through the day.


Blogger sconnor said...
delusional surrender17 said, unless you've experienced being a true christian, you know nothing of it.

...and which one of the 34,000 individual christian sects and denominations, around the world, are the one and only true Christians?

The Way?
Mormons?
Catholics?
Amish?
Christadelphians?
Jehovah Witnesses?
Lord's Resistant Army?
Gnostic?
Unitarian universalism?
Quakers?
Baptists?
Methodists?
Pentecostal?
Swedenborganism?
Lutheran?
Christian Scientists?
FLDS?
etc. etc. etc.

As the late, great, W.C. Fields said, "Go away kid, ya bother me."

--S.


Blogger The AntiChristian said...
Surrender 17,
I used to be a true Christian. It's a crock.


Blogger AtheistToothFairy said...
Hayes has been placed on administrative leave by his church. While his parishioners hope and pray that the charges aren't true
---
I find this quite interesting: His parishioners will PRAY that the charges aren't true.
How's that again?

The way I see it, there are two possibilities.

1. The man is innocent, and therefore, praying to god won't make him 'more' innocent. So it's a waste of time to do so.

2. The man is guilty.

In this case (even if god were real), what do these supporters expect god to do about this man's guilt, from them praying to their god about it?
Do they expect god to cover up his guilt in some manner, perhaps by god doing a memory-wipe of those who discovered the crime evidence.

Surely they don't expect god to go back in time and change the course of events that took place, just so this minister can go back to his normal life.

Is there any occurrence in the bible where god clearly changed a course of human history, just to save some individual from such a problem?

As George Carlin once said, god has a divine plan and what good is it to have a plan if every person with a two dollar prayer book, can f**k with your plan.

If god were real, I'm sure praying to him about this minister, will do nothing to alter god's plan, so why bother.


ATF (Who wishes such folks would stop praying to god for resolutions, and instead expend their energy on doing something about the world's problems instead)


Blogger Michelle said...
So, viewing child pornography and actually molesting a CHILD are considered "imperfections?" How nice of you to whitewash such heinous and sickening crimes! Just imagine someone doing that to your child, niece, nephew, or any child you know. Would you be so quick to dismiss it as an imperfection? Must be nice to hide behind the sin defense while the rest of us have to actually take responsibility for our actions.


Blogger Loki Neves said...
Ha Ha they named there town water town. I mean what kind of water is in this town Avon spring water carbonated water club soda. what kind of water are we talking about???????????


Blogger Loki Neves said...
"A community and a congregation are in shock over the arrest of a minister on child sex charges"

Wow they just used shock minister and sex charges all in the same sentence. Is it even legal to do that any more I belive there is a law some where. How could you be shocked I've been to many churches in my life and I am sorry a guy that gets in front of a buch of people every sunday and talks about his majical invisible friend is nothing but creepy to me. I am sorry they just are weird with there souless smile and blank stare It's like they don't have a central nervous system. I am not suprised cause they always said that jesus loves the little children all the children of the world. Its not the preachers fault he has jesus in his heart and he is just loveing them like jesus would.


Blogger Loki Neves said...
Jesus-- come here little boy I got some candy!!!!!


Blogger wasblindbutnowIsee said...
This post has been removed by the author.


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