US church holds ceremony for AR-15-wielding couples – causing nearby school to close down for the day
The World Peace and Unification Sanctuary says the AR-15 rifle symbolises the ‘rod of iron’ in the biblical Book of Revelation
A Pennsylvania school will shut down for the day on Wednesday because a church down the street is hosting a ceremony featuring AR-15 rifles.
World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland believes the AR-15 symbolises the “rod of iron” in the biblical Book of Revelation, and it is encouraging couples to bring the weapons to a commitment ceremony.
The ceremony, to be held about half a mile from Wallenpaupack South Elementary School, is expected to draw hundreds of couples.
On Friday, the superintendent of the Wallenpaupack Area School District wrote in a letter to parents that while “there is no direct threat to our school or community,” given concerns about parking, traffic and the “nature of the event,” students will be bused to schools about 15 miles (24 kilometres) away.
Superintendent Michael Silsby added there will be increased security at the school all week.
The church, a breakaway faction of the Unification Church, has said it planned Wednesday’s event months ago, well before the February 14 massacre at a Florida high school.
Authorities say the gunman there used an AR-15 in an attack that killed 17.
Church officials say that weapons will be unloaded, secured with zip ties and checked at the door.
The Unification Sanctuary’s leader, the Reverend Sean Moon, is the son of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, a self-proclaimed messiah who founded the Unification Church.
The Unification Church, which is often described as a cult, has distanced itself from Wednesday’s event, saying its ceremonies and theology do not involve weapons.
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“It saddens us that Reverend Moon’s son has chosen to separate himself and walk in opposition to his parent’s legacy building world peace,” the Reverent Richard Buessing, president of Family Federation, another name for the Unification Church, said in a statement.
