So what's the story with the preacher's wife?

[Miss Inga Depointe]

The reality is that if Mr. Winkler had been any other denomination, the comparisons would have been the same, only substitute the denomination of choice...

This is true, mostly because there are, like, how many wives in more paternal religions who are happy as clams and not killing anyone.

I don't see their church as place where "something like this was bound to happen", but it the answer could end up having something to do with their religious beliefs. Who knows.

Now people can maybe see how we catholics feel when people feel like our whole church is bad because of what some bad priests have done.

 

[Disney_1derland]

THE BELOW IS PURELY HEARSAY...NO IDEA IF TRUE OR NOT...

Dh works for a Memphis TV station, he actually went and covered the visitation last week...and the story they were hearing rumbling around all weekend was that the wife was mentally unstable, emotionally and physically abusive to her husband and children, and possibly someone else was involved, not necessarily in the shooting, but was aware that it might happen. This has yet to be proven, of course.

Also...I was born and raised Church of Christ, and to insinuate that my religion is in the business of keeping women subservient and "in their place" is ridiculous. We merely take a literal interpretation of the Bible, and while women do not serve as pastors, elders, or deacons, we are encouraged to take on other responsibilities in the church. There's nothing shady or misogynistic about it. And several other religions don't allow women to serve in those capacities, either. (Southern Baptists, for example, only have about 30 women as pastors in approximately 40,000 churches, and this is only a recent development)

Churches of Christs have male pastors because they believe they are so instructed by the New Testament.

We decided this by, as in all doctrinal questions, asking, "What does the Bible say? 1) there were no known women pastors in New Testament times; 2) none of the instructions regarding church order include instructions for women pastors; and 3) some texts on church order explicitly forbid women to occupy that role. In 1 Timothy 2:12, written with the specific purpose of regulating the office of pastor and the orderly function of the churches, Paul writes, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man" (NIV). Paul does not expect that women will not or cannot learn or teach (compare with Titus 2:3-5 and 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14,15). He concludes women cannot have a pastoral position, or perform the pastoral function, for that puts them in authority over men in the life of the church.

Thanks for the information and for clearing up some of the wild speculation about your denomination.

 

[Disney Doll]

Oh, the above tirade wasn't directed at you in particular...just in general. I think that there's a certain amount of pressure involved with being any public figures' wife, and especially those in positions of religious leadership...my great-aunt was married to a preacher for over 20 years, and the pedestal that her congregation and others in the community put her up on was too high for ANYONE...the pressure to lead by example alone is bad enough, but when everyone in the town has unrealistic expectations, it only compounds the problem.

I just don't get how this thread even got headed in the direction that his particular religious affiliation had anything to do at all with the murder, or that Churches of Christ are some strange little deviant offshoot branch of Protestantism that are bound and determined to keep women quiet and obedient, so she snapped and killed him. The reality is that if Mr. Winkler had been any other denomination, the comparisons would have been the same, only substitute the denomination of choice...

I am Catholic. Welcome to my world!!!!

Religion and fat...two of the areas that, in the opinion of "society" as a whole, are still OK to be discriminatroy against, to say negative things about without fear of reprisal.

 

[taeja71]

Oh, the above tirade wasn't directed at you in particular...just in general. I think that there's a certain amount of pressure involved with being any public figures' wife, and especially those in positions of religious leadership.. My great-aunt was married to a preacher for over 20 years, and the pedestal that her congregation and others in the community put her up on was too high for ANYONE...the pressure to lead by example alone is bad enough, but when everyone in the town has unrealistic expectations, it only compounds the problem......

Here's an inside look as to what I've seen our pastor go through the last 11years our church has existed. Our pastor started our church from scratch.
Our pastor and his family come home today from a conference. I'm going to hug them both when I see them.

 

[roseprincess]

I haven't read every single post here in this particular thread, but who knows what was going on with Mary Winkler? Maybe she suffered from PPD or depression in general, was maybe a combination of things?
Maybe we can speculate some of it can be depression. Someone wrote a post here that Mary Winkler had the same exact facial look as the mom that killed her 5 kids in Texas. Maybe that her husband being a pastor of a church(talking about any denomination) took alot of time from hte immediate family(her and the kids). I have heard many stories at my church that I go to, that being a new pastor takes a lot of time away from immediate family committments. Everybody in the congregation seems to want you when you are a fairly new pastor in general or transfering at a church you never pastored at before. I go to a community church (non-denom) and 2 of the pastors at our church have talked about how their marriage was put on the back burner the first few yrs. of marriage because of being the sole pastor at a church they were at before coming to our church. Their wives were not happy with their husbands because the church congregation came first with all of their needs, serving opportunities, etc. Our church went to team teaching (several teaching pastors) back in the late 1980's and presently doing team teaching because of this problem. And this can happen to pastors and their immediate families of any denomination.
So, I'm just speculating that it possibly can be a combo of things for her, ie. depression, the needs of the congregration, and maybe other things that we may not know about. I guess we will eventually find out what the motive/motives are. Tho this doesn't give her the excuse to kill.

Rosemarie

 

[taeja71]

I haven't read every single post here in this particular thread, but who knows what was going on with Mary Winkler? Maybe she suffered from PPD or depression in general, was maybe a combination of things?
Maybe we can speculate some of it can be depression. Someone wrote a post here that Mary Winkler had the same exact facial look as the mom that killed her 5 kids in Texas. Maybe that her husband being a pastor of a church(talking about any denomination) took alot of time from hte immediate family(her and the kids). I have heard many stories at my church that I go to, that being a new pastor takes a lot of time away from immediate family committments. Everybody in the congregation seems to want you when you are a fairly new pastor in general or transfering at a church you never pastored at before. I go to a community church (non-denom) and 2 of the pastors at our church have talked about how their marriage was put on the back burner the first few yrs. of marriage because of being the sole pastor at a church they were at before coming to our church. Their wives were not happy with their husbands because the church congregation came first with all of their needs, serving opportunities, etc. Our church went to team teaching (several teaching pastors) back in the late 1980's and presently doing team teaching because of this problem. And this can happen to pastors and their immediate families of any denomination.
So, I'm just speculating that it possibly can be a combo of things for her, ie. depression, the needs of the congregration, and maybe other things that we may not know about. I guess we will eventually find out what the motive/motives are. Tho this doesn't give her the excuse to kill.
Rosemarie

I totally agree.

 

[sheherazade]

Nope. It sure doesn't.

But then, unlike many, I can't see any excuse to kill. Unless perhaps someone was threatening to kill my children. Which is very unlikely to be the case in this situation.

I just can't think of any excuse to kill. Not war, not capital punishment. None.



I guess I can expect flames, or maybe not.

 

[taeja71]

Nope. It sure doesn't.

But then, unlike many, I can't see any excuse to kill. Unless perhaps someone was threatening to kill my children. Which is very unlikely to be the case in this situation.

I just can't think of any excuse to kill. Not war, not capital punishment. None.



I guess I can expect flames, or maybe not.

As long as we stick to the subject at hand, there should be no reason for flaming.

 

[goofy's friends]

That's what I was wondering, If somehow the children played a part in their father getting shot.

Kerlynne, I just wanted to clarify that I did not mean I thought the kids were somehow involved in the shooting, just that they were being protected. Protected from the knowledge of what happened to their dad and their mom, protected from the media and anyone asking them questions, and protecting their innocence as children. Just wanted to clear up what I meant.

 

[Stacy_C]

Mary Winkler was in court about an hour ago. She waived her right to a preliminary hearing and did not ask that bond be set. The hearing was televised here and took about 5 minutes.

 

[taeja71]

That's it?!

 

[goofy's friends]

That's all? I wonder if they are trying to make it all die down before they proceed...........

 

[taeja71]

Mary Winkler in Court
Posted: 3/30/2006 5:49:06 PM



The wife accused of murdering her minister husband won’t get out of jail anytime soon.

Mary Winkler appeared before a judge in Selmer, Tennessee Thursday morning. Police say she killed her husband Matthew and then skipped town with the couple’s three daughters.

Mary Winkler was not released on bond because her attorneys didn’t ask for it. The attorneys say after careful discussion with their client, they decided it was in her best interest to remain locked up for now.

Mary Winkler sat in court with her head down. She got a few words of support from her father right before the hearing. Winkler spoke only once when the judge asked her a question.

“Is it your desire at this time to wave a preliminary hearing,” said the judge.

Mary Winkler replied, “Yes sir.”

The minister’s wife and mother of three stared blankly into space for the remainder of the hearing. Her attorneys say Winkler is feeling better but struggles to keep her focus.

“When you want to discuss a crucial issue with someone, you need their full attention. Right now, we don’t feel like she is able to give us her full attention,” said defense attorney Steve Farese.

Police say Mary Winkler confessed to shooting her husband in their home last week. Matthew Winkler was the minister at Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer.

“I’m concerned about her emotional state,and one of those concerns is whether she would hurt herself,” said defense attorney Leslie Ballin.

Defense lawyers say Winkler is not under a suicide watch at the jail but is getting careful attention.

Co-counsel Leslie Ballin says his client’s mental state is an issue and could factor into a possible insanity defense.

Mary Winkler’s attorneys say she has asked about the possibility of seeing her three daughters. The lawyers say they are looking into whether that can happen.

The next step in the Winkler case is a few months away. A McNairy County grand jury will start considering the case in June.

I agree with the poster above, I think they are milking things out and waiting for things to die down.

From Knoxnews.com:
Preacher's wife stays in jail without bond
By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press
March 30, 2006


SELMER, Tenn. — A minister's wife charged with shooting her husband to death in the church parsonage was ordered held without bail Thursday after waiving her right to a hearing that would have aired the evidence against her.
The case against Mary Winkler will now go before a grand jury, expected to meet in June to determine if there is enough evidence to support the first-degree murder charge against her.

Defense attorney Steve Farese said Winkler decided not to ask for bail, in part to protect her three young daughters, but the defense may ask for a bond hearing later.

"We feel it does no one any good to hear bad things said about the mother of children. We don't feel that it does anyone any good to hear gruesome things about their late father," Farese said outside the courtroom.

Mary Winkler, 32, is charged with shooting Matthew Winkler, minister of Fourth Street Church of Christ in Selmer, a small town 80 miles east of Memphis.

Leslie Ballin, another defense lawyer, said Winkler is "fragile" emotionally and a psychological exam is expected.

"We just think it's in her best interest to not have bond right now," Ballin said. "This is a marathon. This is not a sprint. We're going to come at this, as you've seen to date, very slowly, very methodically."

Authorities say Winkler confessed to shooting her 31-year-old husband on March 22, although they refuse to discuss any reason she gave for the slaying. They have said they don't think infidelity was a factor but won't answer questions about whether Mary Winkler had accused her husband of abuse.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Rice refused to say if authorities had been prepared to disclose their theories on motive had the preliminary hearing been held.

At such hearings, prosecutors often put on evidence to support arguments that the accused should remain behind bars.

The minister's body was found in the parsonage when he didn't show up for an evening church service. The next day, Mary Winkler was found in Orange Beach, Ala., with the children, who are now in the custody of their paternal grandparents.

Farese said Winkler has asked to see her children — Breanna, 1; Mary Alice, 6; and Patricia, 8 — but he was not sure when that might happen.

Prosecutor Rice said defendants indicted by the county grand jury in June generally go to trial in October. She declined comment about the case against Winkler.

Farese said Winkler was upset and unable to concentrate on helping with her defense. He said he was unsure what she said in a statement to police and has had no word from authorities on what they believe was a motive.

"What I'm trying to get to is a position where she can focus and we can get what she thinks she said at that interview and we haven't gotten there yet," he said.

 

[taeja71]

Mr. Leslie Ballin will now be representing Mary Winkler. He Steve Fereeese (sp) asked this L.B. if he would take over the case pro bono. CNN is having a live interview with various people. I'm trying to watch so sorry to not giving specifics.

I'm sorry. There's a psychotherapist being interviewed right now and she's trying to psychoanalyze M.W being a pastor's wife. I'm sorry, but (most)psychotherapist (most of them) will not understand the spiritual aspect of being a Pastor's wife or the relationship one has with God.

 

[Pugdog007]

Clearly they're setting up an insanity defense.

 

[goofy's friends]

I'm sorry. There's a Phycotheripist being interviewed right now and she's trying to physoanalyze M.W being a pastor's wife. I'm sorry, but (most)Phsychotheripists (most of them) will not understand the spiritual aspect of being a Pastor's wife or the relationship one has with God.

I for one would understand the spiritual aspect of being a Pastor's wife and the relationship one has with God. I believe that most pshchotherapists would understand as they try to understand their client's world as much as possible. I would be very interested in what THIS psychotherapist said and thought.

 

[sheherazade]

Some psychotherapists are devoutly religious. So why is it so unlikely a psychotherapist would understand the spiritual?

 

[taeja71]

Some psychotherapists are devoutly religious. So why is it so unlikely a psychotherapist would understand the spiritual?

because this one on t.v. appeared to be in the dark. Or she didn't want to illude to any information related to the case if she knew info. I hope you ALL can watch the taped broadcast of Larry King. Even I missed parts of it. It was an interesting program to say the least since we've heard so little.

Sorry, I'm using my dh's laptop and the keys are driving me crazy!So, excuse any typos or errors.

I'm sorry. There's a psychotherapist being interviewed right now and she's trying to psychoanalyze M.W being a pastor's wife. I'm sorry, but (most)psychotherapist (most of them) will not understand the spiritual aspect of being a Pastor's wife or the relationship one has with God.

I'm going to eat my own words now. That's what I get for not watching from the beginning. So, my apologies to you all. I heard psycho and you know the music from the shower scene from the movie popped in my head. I wish the psyc..pist had more time, but you know the show must go on.

 

[sheherazade]

Well durn. I don't have cable. I'm curious about what the psychotherapist said to indicate her failure to understand spirituality, but I won't ask you to post a transcript!

 

[goofy's friends]

Well durn. I don't have cable. I'm curious about what the psychotherapist said to indicate her failure to understand spirituality, but I won't ask you to post a transcript!

I am curious as well.