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More articles about: Living Church of God:

Shooter’s mother says he disagreed with new church pastor

Associated Press, via AZCentral.com, USA
Mar. 18, 2005
www.azcentral.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Saturday March 19, 2005

MILWAUKEE – A man who fatally shot seven fellow church members and then killed himself had a history of depression and disagreed with his pastor, his mother told a medical examiner.

Shirley Ratzmann said her 44-year-old son, Terry Ratzmann, had a history of depression “relating to job problems for the last couple of years,” but had not seen a doctor about it, a medical examiner’s report released Thursday shows.

Living Church of God

Amazing grace that saved the church:
How the Worldwide Church of God changed from being a cult of Christianity (theologically) to embracing mainstream Christianity

The changes in the Worldwide Church of God resulted in 8 breakaway churches. The Living Church of God was founded after one of these breakaway churches split.

Due to its rejection of some of the essential doctrines of the Christian faith, the Living Church of God is considered to be – theologically – a cult of Christianity

Shirley Ratzmann also said the Living Church of God congregation her son attended had split from another church a few years ago.

“She stated that her son did not agree with the new pastor’s point of view, but ‘didn’t harp on it,’ ” the report said.

Police said they think Ratzmann may have targeted his pastor’s family and shot others at random Saturday when he walked into the service at the Brookfield Sheraton hotel and fired 22 shots from a handgun.

Pastor Randy Gregory, 51, of Gurnee, Ill., and his son, James Gregory, 16, were killed. The pastor’s wife, Marjean Gregory, 52, was wounded and remained hospitalized as funeral services were held for her husband and son Thursday.

District Attorney Paul Bucher said investigators still have “no logical reason” for who was gunned down.

“All we know is it had to do something with the church. We don’t know if it was a philosophical issue, a personnel issue, even a monetary issue,” Bucher said.

Some friends and fellow churchgoers have said Terry Ratzmann suffered from depression for decades.

Leaders of the church, an offshoot of the former Worldwide Church of God, did not know of any disputes between Ratzmann and Gregory or any other members, said John Ogwyn, a church minister from Texas who traveled to Milwaukee on Thursday for the funerals.

He said the church does not discourage medical treatment for mental health problems, as some have said.

Police have ruled out a pending job loss as a motive in the killing, and for now they are discounting events during a Feb. 26 church service. Ratzmann walked out of that service before he was scheduled to give the closing prayer, but police have said they found nothing to show the service was a turning point in Ratzmann’s life.