As a church e-mail stated: “Unless you’ve been on the moon for the past week, you’re probably aware of the activities surrounding the disappearance and discovery of Tiffany Tehan.”
Godwin said Friday, April 23, that his church’s massive flier and Internet search effort that helped locate Tehan Thursday with a Dayton man in Miami Beach, Fla., will be prominent in the 9 and 10:30 a.m. services.
“When others suffer, the church is going to be there for them and walk with them through those experiences,” Godwin said of the “Beyond the Wilderness” sermon series. “I think our church has done a good job with that this week.”
Tehan went missing April 17 after a shopping trip. Her car was found abandoned the next day in Indian Riffle Park. She was reported missing, sparking a nationwide search that ended Wednesday night when she was discovered in Miami Beach with Tre Hutcherson, a man she told police she left with willingly.
Godwin has counseled Tehan’s husband, David, each day this week. The Tehans’ family, friends and many of the approximately 600 worshippers are still digesting the week’s events that led to national TV coverage and a parking lot full of satellite dishes.
“We all know that people make mistakes,” church worker Liz Wrigglesworth said. “This just happened to be more public than anything else.”
Tracy Staley, Tiffany’s close friend, shared some meals with Tiffany Tehan in the past couple of months and saw no signs of her wanting a new life.
“If she had come to me and said, ‘I’m thinking about leaving,’ my advice would have been, ‘Wait. Stop. Talk to somebody. Think this through,’ ” Staley said. “A lot of people can feel helpless in life, but there’s probably more people to support them than they realize.”
Despite the bizarre circumstances of Tiffany Tehan’s disappearance and police reports of a romantic involvement with a married man, Staley said she is not angry, but perhaps sad.
“You’re not above what other people do,” she said. “To cast judgment and say nasty things about it is something that I’m not doing and something I’m seeing the church community not doing either.”
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