Testimony allowed against former pastor in sex abuse case (4/16/2021)
Former Winona pastor Rick Iglesias’ legal defense against sexual abuse charges suffered a setback earlier this month when a judge ruled testimony from Iglesias’ former boss and senior pastor may be used in the case.
Iglesias, 66, was charged in 2019 with repeatedly sexually abusing a minor from 2010 to 2012 when Iglesias was a pastor at Pleasant Valley Church in Winona.
In one of the case’s most significant events to date, defense attorney Kurt Knuesel petitioned the court to suppress testimony from Dr. Kurt Bjorklund. Bjorklund was a minister at a church in Pennsylvania where Iglesias worked in 2019. Bjorklund was Iglesias’ supervisor, the two were old friends from seminary, and Knuesel wrote, Bjorklund was Iglesias’ “only spiritual superior in the church.” In summer 2019, Iglesias asked to meet Bjorklund at his house, reportedly disclosed that he had committed a sex
A very special 100th birthday wish
By Tom Treece
Friday morning I will call her, as I do every March 8. She will answer with that spunky, happy “Hello?” that always makes me feel better than I did before I called.
I’ll then begin my personal, soulful version of “Happy Birthday” and she’ll wait until I’ve finished before giving me a heartfelt “Oh, thank you Tom!”
She knows the voice and knows I’ll be calling; she’ll also gush and say something like, “Oh, that Tom!” when the dozen red roses arrive later.
This particular birthday will be super-special, however, as Friday marks the 100th trip around the sun for my sweet and beautiful friend, Miss Olivia Chappell. I met her years ago through her daughter, Gwen, before becoming friends with her entire family.
Churches like Arkansas s Pleasant Valley Church of Christ have also been forced to color outside the lines, inviting visitors to participate in an outdoor candlelight service at the 18,000-seat War Memorial Stadium at the University of Arkansas.
At the nearby North Little Rock First United Methodist, Christmas Eve services will be held in a parking lot and broadcast on an FM radio station. Jonathan and Alesha Vaughn, and their children, Addison, 5, left, and Ann Marie, 7, pray during services in the Worship Center at Highland Colony Baptist Church in Ridgeland, Miss., Nov. 29, 2020. (Associated Press)
Lynchburg s Peakland Baptist Church will prerecord its services.
bcoupland@tribtoday.com
The next few days normally is a time when area churches are filled to capacity for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced churches to alter their services and traditions because of restrictions on crowd size and social-distancing guidelines. Many churches canceled their Easter services in April because the pandemic was in its early stages and many moved to online services, with some still offering both live and online worship to accommodate people’s preferences. Others are having worship outside in parking lots.
Monsignor John Zuraw, chancellor for the Diocese of Youngstown, said parishes of the Diocese have all adapted for holding Christmas Eve Masses.