NEW SWEDEN, Maine -- About 200 people crammed Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church May 4, a week after one man died and several members became ill after drinking arsenic-laced coffee at a church social, according to news reports.
"We need to reclaim the church as a safe place where God is," the Rev. Bishop Margaret Payne told the congregation.
As a symbolic gesture, members drank coffee from an urn.
"I'll take the first sip," Payne said. "Things have to get back to normal, so we should drink coffee today."
Reuters news service reported that investigators suspect 78-year-old Robert Morrill, head usher at the church, died after drinking tainted coffee from an urn at the church social. They are investigating the suspected May 3 suicide of Daniel Bondeson, 53, a member of the church possibly linked to the poisoned coffee.
Three church members remain hospitalized in serious condition.
Lt. Dennis Appleton of the Maine State Police told reporters the shooting at Bondeson's house was related to the poisoning but stopped short of saying Bondeson was responsible, according to the news service.
According to The Boston Herald, Bondeson left a suicide note that included an unspecified apology.
