Friday, the thirteenth — oh, wow!
1958 — James Roth weds Noreen Byers on Friday the thirteenth. In less than two years, they begin service in Mexico. They return to the States to live in mid-1976. After another relatively-short stint in Mexico in the early 80’s, they return to Oregon “permanently.” After a little over 25 years of service in that capacity, James recently retired as pastor and bishop of Hopewell Mennonite Church near Hubbard, Oregon. So, now it’s Friday the thirteenth again — but fifty years later. Congratulations, Dad and Mom!
In other years on this day . . .
1525 – Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora — contrary to the RCCs celibacy rule for its priests and nuns.
1757 — Pope Benedict XIV grants people throughout the world official permission to have the Bible in their own language.
1774 — Rhode Island bans the importation of slaves — the first British North American colony to do so.
1900 — China’s Boxer Rebellion explodes into full-scale violence — foreigners as well as Chinese Christians are targeted.
1966 — The US Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them.
1983 — After more than a decade in space, Pioneer 10, the world’s first outer-planetary probe, leaves the solar system.
1997 — A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to the death for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2002 — The US withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
2008 — Substantial election returns show that Ireland’s voters have rejected the European Union reform treaty, a blueprint for modernizing the 27-nation bloc that cannot become law without Irish approval.