Missouri has a new governor. Mike Parson was sworn in during a private ceremony at 5:30 p.m., following a private prayer service at 4 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Jefferson City. I attended both to cover them for
Word&Way.
Since Parson is
Baptist, the short prayer service featured two Baptist preachers: his pastor at First Baptist Church in Bolivar, Mo. (Billy Russell), and his brother (Kent) who is pastor at Elkton Baptist Church in Elkton, Mo.
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Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft leading the singing of "Great is Thy Faithfulness." |
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Billy Russell, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bolivar, Mo. |
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Kent Parson, pastor of Elkton Baptist Church in Elkton, Mo. |
After the service, the tenure of embattled Governor Eric Greitens ended. Meanwhile, the group at First Baptist walked the two blocks - past the Governor's Mansion - to the Capitol for the swearing in of the 57th Governor of Missouri.
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Mike Parson taking the oath of office. |
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Mike Parson making a few remarks after taking the oath of office. |
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A reminder that most of the crowd for the ceremony was media. |
I
interviewed Parson last year for
Word&Way early into his term as lieutenant governor. That interview - in which he talked about issues like faith, politics, and dark money - has been cited by a couple of other media groups this week seeking to introduce Parson (including
KRCG and
Riverfront Times).
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