‘He was a hero to his church family’

A memorial sign remembers the victims of the mass shooting in Tucson, Ariz. (Photo by Teresa Nystrom)

New on The Christian Chronicle’s website:

TUCSON, ARIZ. – Until a clear, crisp Saturday morning erupted in gunfire outside a Safeway supermarket, few had heard of the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ.
Desert terrain and mountain ranges surround this city of 550,000, about 60 miles north of the Mexican border, where the 120-member congregation meets in a red-brick building shaded by palm trees.
A familiar face only to his friends, relatives and church family, 76-year-old Dorwan Stoddard served Jesus in obscurity — taking charge of maintaining the 50-year-old church building and leading the benevolence ministry with his wife, Mavy.
“He was a hero to his church family,” pulpit minister Mike Nowak said.
But in an instant, he became a hero to millions and propelled the Mountain Avenue church into the national spotlight.

Read the full story and a related Inside Story column. See our previous coverage.

• Feedback
  What an awesome man and a life well lived, truly an example to us all.

  John Clemmons

  February, 6 2011

  THAT IS TRUE…AND HE WAS A HERO…..

  Emma Sottoway

  February, 6 2011