Missouri church is forced to apologize after publishing concerning ad in its bulletin

A Missouri church has apologized after an alarming advertisement was published in its bulletin.

Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield - about two hours outside of Jefferson City - posted an ad in its June 16 bulletin calling for young men to join a militia.

'JOIN NOW' was written in large bold letters on the announcement that called for men aged 18-29 to form the group 'The Legion of the Sancta Lana.'

Alongside a large QR code that directed people to an application, the ad explained that members would 'protect the holy eucharist, congregation, clergy, and church ground from violent and non-violent attacks.'

The Catholic church quickly retracted the advertisement with Rev. Eugene Schaeffer, the associate pastor of the parish, branding it a 'mistake.'

'The advertisement, which included a QR code with an application for membership, suggests that a militia would be formed and that this group would be affiliated with Ascension parish. This is, of course, untrue,' the church said in a statement on its website .

'To be perfectly clear, there is no militia being formed, and we regret that this item was included in the bulletin.

'Furthermore, the suggestion that our community might require a militia in order for us to celebrate the Eucharist is both inappropriate and unhelpful.

'We sincerely apologize for this error and the anguish it has caused, and we believe it is in the best interest of our parish and our community for us to clarify that we do not support this activity,' the statement added.

The advertisement explained that interested members would need to go through training that entailed 'strict physical fitness standards, classroom study, and instruction in military operations.'

A militia is commonly known as an organized army of non-professional and part-time soldiers that band together for emergency situations.

The church assured parishioners and the public that 'there have been zero threats' that would require a group of young men to protect the religious community.

A male parishioner, who chose to remain anonymous, told Fox 2 echoed the Reverend's acknowledgment of the error.

'It was an advertisement that was printed without any review by the parish, and I think it slipped through the review process cracks,' he said.

Although the church's bulletins are published by an outside agency, longtime members of the parish were shocked to see the peculiar advertisement inside.

'It was kind of a surprise, because it's contradictory to everything that the school and church preaches in the parish,' a parishioner said.

The church has two Catholic schools - The Little School for children ages two-five and Ascension Catholic School for students in Kindergarten through eighth grade.

The parish has not identified the person who paid for the advertisement, but the QR code link says that the application form is 'no longer accepting responses.'

DailyMail.com contacted Ascension Catholic Church for comment.

Another church recently garnered national attention as leaders banned the parish from using its amphitheater for Sunday prayers.

Town officials in Dillon, Colorado blocked all non-town sponsored groups from using the space - including Dillon Community Church which had held events there for 42 years - after being inundated with rental requests.

The decision has catapulted the 1,000-person town to the center of a debate over worship in public facilities.

Pressure groups on both sides went on to threaten lawsuits, with some demanding the church be given special dispensation to gather, while others slam the preferential access as 'Christian privilege.'

Town manager Nathan Johnson told The Denver Post: 'There needs to be a separation of church and state. We cannot favor one denomination over another.'