The leader of a fundamentalist church in Louisville, Kentucky invited his congregation to pack heat at the church’s Sunday services last week.  Ken Pagano, a former Marine Corps drill instructor and pastor of the New Bethel Church, thought it would be great fun to see how many of his congregation would show up with handguns. The church planned to celebrate the Second Amendment, play martial music, and set up a gun show and swap meet after the morning services.

Not surprisingly, nearly all of the congregation showed up fully armed. Then the fun began when one member’s .357 magnum accidentally discharged, lodging a bullet in the ceiling of the chapel. No one was hurt in the mishap. But the moment the errant pistol discharged, nearly the whole congregation dropped to the floor between the pews, weapons drawn. Several more shots were fired into the air as a response, and again, no one was hurt, though several stained glass windows were broken. A few bullets also ricocheted off the pipe organ.

The commotion finally subsided when Pagano urged the flock to calm down.

“Everybody stand down…holster your weapons!,” shouted the gruff Pagano over the chapel’s P.A. system. “There’s no attack on us, no invasion. Someone’s revolver just went off. It was just an accident.”

Sheriff deputies responding to reports of shots fired arrived at the church only to find its congregation standing in the aisles, laughing and carrying on as if nothing had happened. A few members were cleaning their pistols, while others were showing theirs off to fellow members.

“Folks ’round here just need to let off some steam,” said an unidentified deputy. “Reverend Pagano does this every year, and the church always gets a few new holes in the ceiling and walls. But ain’t nobody ever been hurt. It’s good, clean, all-American fun.”