ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 7, 2009  

ELCA Member Dies from Effects of Arsenic Poisoning in Maine
09-085-SH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Nearly six years have passed, but grief
continues for a Maine congregation where 16 people were poisoned
in 2003 after drinking coffee laced with arsenic by a disgruntled
church member.
     Frances "Fran" Ruggles, 67, who drank the coffee, died April
4, ending her battle against the effects of the poisoning,
according to news reports. A memorial service is planned April 8
at Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church, New Sweden.
     Gustaf Adolph is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA). The ELCA New England Synod told the Associated
Press that it "holds the Ruggles family close in prayers with
Christian love and consolation during this time of loss."
     Ruggles' death fell just days before the April 27
anniversary of the poisoning. One church member died and 15
others became ill. Some continue to suffer the effects.
     Last year almost no one attended worship on the Sunday
closest to the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, according to the
Rev. James P. Morgan, an area Episcopal priest who provided
pastoral care to the congregation for years.
     "It was understandable. People are still doing grief work,"
he said. "Some of us had predicted that dealing with the trauma
would be a five-year process. Most people have come to grips with
the tragedy and offered forgiveness as they were able."
     The Rev. Margaret G. Payne, bishop of the New England Synod,
said the nature of the crime makes it difficult for members to
heal. Arsenic resides in human organs and can destroy them over
time.
     "They are still being treated medically," Payne said. "They
can't put it behind them."
     A 58-year-old church member who killed himself days after
the poisoning confessed to the crime in a suicide note. Three
years passed before law enforcement ruled that he'd acted alone.
     "Living with that uncertainty added to the pain and grief of
this community," the bishop said.
     The congregation was searching for a part-time pastor at the
time of the poisoning. After the tragedy, pastors across the New
England Synod volunteered to serve the congregation for one week
at a time. The synod also brought in trauma specialists.
     A new minister arrived just before Christmas last year.
Gordon Compton isn't an ordained pastor, but a synodically
authorized minister appointed by the bishop to lead congregations
in New Sweden and nearby Stockholm.
     Compton holds a divinity degree from Princeton Theological
Seminary. He served 20 years with A Christian Ministry in the
National Parks (ACMNP) before retiring from that ministry last
year.
     "He told me that the day he heard about the poisoning on the
news, he felt drawn to get on his knees and pray for the church
members and somehow serve them," Payne said. "He's just a very
pastoral, healing kind of presence."
     Compton declined to discuss his ministry out of respect for
church members' privacy.
     On a recent Wednesday, he prepared fish chowder for a Lenten
supper and service at Gustaf Adolph. Perhaps at no other
congregation in America is eating food prepared by others more an
act of faith.
     "Even though they got over the immediate trauma, these
situations leave terrible scars and wounds," Payne said. "They
need to heal from the inside out. I feel Gordon has the gift and
skills to be an instrument of life for them."
---
     Information about Gustaf Adolph is at www.galc.org on the
Web.


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