21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest The American Experience
Sun shining through the window at the Quemado Baptist Church.

Rusty Stewart, 47, a pastor at the church, used to wear a gun on his hip that he described as his “backup plan.” After a suicide attempt, he was told that “people who commit suicide go straight to hell."

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Quemado, New Mexico, United States of America
Camera: EZ Controller
Copyright: © Brandon Kapelow