Tears, chairs, roses and resilience
Texas church holds its first service since gunman’s rampage
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas — Hundreds of mourners crowded into the tiny town of Sutherland Springs for the first Sunday service since a gunman stormed the First Baptist Church a week earlier, killing more than two dozen people in the worst mass shooting in Texas history.
After an emotional sermon held outdoors under a massive white tent, congregants and the public were invited to return to the church for the first time since the tragedy. A chilling memorial set up inside the church included 26 white chairs — including one for the unborn baby of a victim who was pregnant — bearing each victim’s name or nickname painted in gold.
Pastor Frank Pomeroy shared his personal heartache and a message that the community bound together by faith can move past the evil that attacked the church seven days earlier.
“Rather than choose darkness as that young man did that day, we choose life,” Pomeroy said during the service, his voice cracking as he spoke about his 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, who was among those killed.
So many people turned up that the tent’s side flaps had to be opened for an overflow crowd. Mark Collins, a previous pastor at First Baptist, said it was the largest gathering in the church’s 100-year history.
Congregants wept during the service and a moving version of “Amazing Grace,” led by three singers and a man on guitar, as the voices of hundreds sang along.
Later Sunday, the First Baptist Church opened its doors for the first time since the shooting. The inside had been transformed into a memo- rial with its walls, floor and pulpit painted white.
Broken windows and ceiling tiles had been replaced and bullet holes filled. The church’s pews, the carpet and all equipment had been removed. All that filled the space were the 26 white chairs, each with a red rose tied to it except for one that had a pink rose for the unborn baby.
A line of about 85 people snaked from the church entrance and curved around the block, including people who traveled from as far away as the East Coast, said Collins, who has returned to help in the tragedy’s aftermath.
Constructing the memorial wasn’t an easy decision, he said. Some members have said they never wanted to step foot inside the site, while others have said they needed to see it.
Next Sunday’s service is expected to take place on the grounds of the church, likely in a makeshift structure, Collins said. Church members will have to decide whether to demolish the church, but plans are also being discussed to build a new structure nearby.
The gunman went aisle to aisle looking for victims and shot crying babies at point-blank range, according to witness accounts. The dead ranged in age from 18 months to 77 years old. About 20 people were wounded in the shooting.
The gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was shot and chased by two men who heard the gunfire at the church. Investigators have said the attack appeared to stem from a domestic dispute involving the gunman and his mother-in-law, who sometimes attended services at the church but wasn’t there the day of the shooting.
The gunman had a history of domestic violence: He was given a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force after pleading guilty to assaulting his first wife and stepson.
The church has reached out to the gunman’s family, Collins said.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family,” he added.