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undeterred

(34,658 posts)
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 06:13 PM Apr 2013

Lutheran bishop was intoxicated behind the wheel when he hit, killed woman

DOUG ERICKSON | Wisconsin State Journal

For years, Maureen Mengelt ran the same five-mile route near her home in Sun Prairie, a course that helped her prepare for the annual Syttende Mai 20-miler next month in Stoughton, her favorite race. On Sunday afternoon, Mengelt, who turned 52 last week, was training alone on that route when police say she was struck and killed by a a local Lutheran bishop who allegedly was intoxicated on his way to a church ceremony. "We've run that route probably thousands of times — it was one of her favorites," said Mengelt's husband, Kevin.

He was being comforted Monday by dozens of friends and family members, including members of the Madison Police Department. Maureen Mengelt was an officer on the force in the late 1980s, before deciding police work was not her calling, friends said. Most recently, she devoted her time to raising the couple's three children — one at UW-Madison, two school-aged — and working part time as a driver for Gallant Knight Limousine, a job that spoke to her love of people.

Mengelt was running Sunday on a blacktop path that runs parallel to Windsor Street in Sun Prairie. She was at the point where the path crosses the bottom of the northbound off-ramp of Highway 151 when she was struck.

Police arrested the Rev. Bruce Burnside, 59, the bishop for the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He was in sheriff's custody Monday, tentatively charged with homicide by intoxicated driving and hit-and-run causing death, said Sun Prairie Lt. Brian Teasdale. After allegedly hitting Mengelt, Burnside drove to a nearby Kelley's Market convenience store, where police first had contact with him in his vehicle, said Teasdale, who declined further comment due to the ongoing investigation.



Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/police-lutheran-bishop-was-intoxicated-behind-the-wheel-when-he/article_e949068a-a08f-11e2-baa0-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz2Q0Tc3tOP



Sounds like he hit her and left the scene of the accident.

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Lutheran bishop was intoxicated behind the wheel when he hit, killed woman (Original Post) undeterred Apr 2013 OP
Some background on the bishop Bruce Burnside when elected bishop in 2007. undeterred Apr 2013 #1
Sad, in so many ways. jerseyjack Apr 2013 #2
Lutheran church postpones 'Beer & Hymns' sing-along after bishop's arrest undeterred Apr 2013 #3

undeterred

(34,658 posts)
1. Some background on the bishop Bruce Burnside when elected bishop in 2007.
Tue Apr 9, 2013, 08:36 PM
Apr 2013

You tube video ...




CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Bruce Burnside, St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Monona, Wis., was elected to a six-year term as bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly in Madison, Wis. Burnside, 53, was elected May 5 on the fifth ballot for bishop, 253-159 over the Rev. Michael C. Rehak, assistant to the bishop, ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.
Burnside will succeed the Rev. George G. Carlson, 65, who announced earlier he would not be available for re-election. Carlson was elected bishop of the synod in 2001.
Burnside led on the fourth ballot with 209 votes. Rehak had 117 votes, and the Rev. David J. Berggren, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Sun Prairie, Wis., received 75 votes. There were 31 names on the first or nominating ballot.
Burnside will assume his new role as synod bishop on July 1. He will be installed on Sept. 16 at a location to be announced.
Born in Ashland, Wis., Burnside earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash., in 1984. In 1988 he earned a master of divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio. Pacific Lutheran is one of 28 ELCA colleges and universities; Trinity is one of eight ELCA seminaries.
Burnside served as pastor of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sharon, Wis., and St. John's Lutheran Church, Boscobel, Wis. He became senior pastor at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in 1993.
Burnside and his wife Cynthia are parents of an adult daughter. They reside in Madison.
The ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin has 110,668 baptized members in 150 congregations. The synod office is in Madison.

http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Communication-Services/News/Releases.aspx?a=3590

undeterred

(34,658 posts)
3. Lutheran church postpones 'Beer & Hymns' sing-along after bishop's arrest
Sat Apr 13, 2013, 11:56 AM
Apr 2013

A Lutheran church on Madison’s east side has put its “Beers & Hymns” social gathering on hiatus, after its bishop was charged this week with striking and killing a Sun Prairie woman while driving drunk.

Pastor Brian Konkol of Lake Edge Lutheran Church, 4032 Monona Drive, offered only a prepared statement on Friday:

“We are postponing ‘Beers and Hymns’ out of compassion, solidarity and respect for the family and friends of Maureen Mengelt, Bishop Bruce Burnside, and this entire tragic situation,” Konkol said Friday.

He would not comment further.

Burnside has been charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, two other felonies and one misdemeanor in connection with the incident Sunday afternoon, in which Burnside’s sport-utility vehicle struck Mengelt as he exited Highway 151 at Windsor Street in Sun Prairie.

Lake Edge Lutheran hosted the “Beers & Hymns” sing-along at Chief’s Tavern on nearby Cottage Grove Road on March 3 and last Sunday, in what was planned as a monthly get-together to introduce the congregation to neighborhood residents.

In a Capital Times feature story last month on faith-related gatherings in local bars, Konkol told reporter Lindsay Christians that while some members of his congregation were concerned about serving up beer with hymns, others praised the outreach effort. “We need to be sensitive to those that have struggled, but not demonize alcohol itself,” Konkol said.

Burnside, 59, oversees 145 area congregations (including Lake Edge) as bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He was released on a signature bond Thursday and entered a residential alcohol treatment program. The synod has appointed an acting bishop.

A visitation for Mengelt, 52, was held Friday. People were encouraged by her family to wear tennis shoes in honor of the avid runner who was fatally injured while jogging a favorite route.


Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/pat_schneider/lutheran-church-postpones-beer-hymns-sing-along-after-bishop-s/article_5e6ace78-f589-5f80-8925-ca6668f05aab.html#ixzz2QMLSeuXm

There's just something about Wisconsin.

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