Wedgwood message after church shooting: The Lord will carry them through
Members of Wedgwood Baptist Church said they visited services at West Freeway Baptist Church on Monday to offer a prayer of hope and to let members know they are there for them.
The Wedgwood members said they tried not to be too overbearing because they know the trauma the church is experiencing.
Wedgwood Baptist Church commemorated the 20th anniversary of an attack on its church in September. Seven were killed by a mentally disturbed man who ultimately died by his own hands in one of the church’s back pews.
Seven others were wounded. It takes a while to get past the shock, said Debbie Gillette, a pastoral ministry assistant who visited West Freeway Church of Christ on Monday.
“Just like we were the first few days, you are just getting through it,” she said. “You really don’t know what you need.”
During Sunday’s communion service at West Freeway Church of Christ, a disguised gunman rose up and appeared to say a few words to deacon Anton Wallace just before opening fire with a shotgun he had stashed in his clothing.
Wallace and a member of the church’s security team, Richard White, died. Within seconds Jack Wilson, a member of the church’s security team, shot and killed the gunman.
“The Lord carried us through and we are grateful for that,” Gillette said. “We tell them the Lord carried us through and he will carry them through also.”
Right now, they are in shock mode, said Al Meredith, the retired Wedgwood pastor who guided the church during the time of the shooting. Meredith said he was glad to see the West Freeway congregation gather on Monday.
The congregation will need to commiserate with people who are familiar and discuss the pain they are undoubtedly feeling, Wedgwood members said.
“They will get so many phone calls it will almost become a burden,” Meredith said. “The people there now are just raw nerves. The ministry of your tears is often best for now. Be there to listen, be there to hug, be there to weep with those who weep.”
It will take time for the West Freeway congregation to process the trauma, said Jay Fannin, a Wedgwood student and recreation minister. Fannin said he also visited West Freeway Church of Christ for its service on Monday.
“When you have something like this, you want to be together. You want to cry together and talk together,” Fannin said. “You want to be back in your church. Worshiping the God you were worshiping when the shooting happened is very important.”
Britt Farmer, West Freeway’s minister, told the people during Monday’s service that having people pray for the church is amazingly important, Fannin said.
“I don’t know how people deal with tragedies like this without the Lord,” Fannin said. “Time is a healer. ... Prayer and reliance on the Lord, I don’t know how to go through trauma without that.”
When a traumatic event such as a church shooting occurs, a certain number of people relive the horror of the event, said Billy Mitchell, Wedgwood church member and veteran Fort Worth police officer.
Some individuals may not have been in the building when the traumatic event occurred, but be in pain nonetheless because of their closeness to others who have experienced loss or because of the loss of someone they were close to, Mitchell said.
Meeting as a congregation, group counseling and one-on-one counseling are important to those suffering trauma, Mitchell said. For the people who have lost someone close, closure is perhaps years away, Mitchell said.
The people who bring these tragedies into churches are missing the love of God, Mitchell said.
“If you have a right relationship with Christ, you understand that salvation is not based upon what we’ve done, but what He has done for us,” Mitchell said. “Christ took what we deserve upon himself.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
