HIGHWAY TRAGEDY
Congregation reeling from deaths
Pastor Glory Blamo sat beside an empty chair, shrouded in black cloth, at the front of his congregation Sunday.
A week earlier, his wife and assistant, Glorious Decontee David, had sat in the seat at the head of Solid Rock International Ministries, a Pentecostal church that worships each week on the second floor of an office complex and shopping centre in northeast Edmonton.
But in an instant on a highway east of Edmonton Friday, she was gone.
David was one of three women killed in a collision between their minivan and a stolen flatbed truck just east of Lloydminster Friday.
Another woman was still in hospital in critical condition.
The deaths rocked the church community where the women were members.
Jeanette Wright and Eva Fatu Tumbay — a mother of four and a member of another church who was active in the local Liberian community — were also killed.
The fourth woman, Jenet Wright Gaye, Wright’s niece, was airlifted to hospital in Edmonton in critical condition. The four were travelling to Minnesota to see family.
The crash happened when the driver of a stolen heavy-duty truck collided with the minivan while travelling on Highway 16 around 3 a.m. Friday, five kilometres east of Lloydminster. RCMP said the truck was part of a stolen vehicle investigation and the driver fled when police attempted a traffic stop.
Police gave chase but were called off for safety reasons about 35 minutes before the crash, a news release said. A 26-year-old man was taken into custody at the scene.
On Sunday, the congregation worshipped together for the first time since the crash. During the service, some hugged each other, sobbing and wailing. A man and a woman laid face-down before the pulpit in grief. Nearly everyone made trips to the front of the church to collect tissues.
Some were so overcome they had to leave the service and collect themselves in the hall — one woman had to be taken out on a stretcher by emergency services personnel. Toward the end of the sermon, the 11-member band played an uplifting song and dancers streamed through the aisles.
After that, Matthew Gaye, husband of Jenet Wright Gaye, spoke to the worshippers with tears in his eyes.
The church was founded in 2011 and includes many members of Edmonton’s Liberian community. The close-knit congregation of more than 100 members moved several times before settling on the second floor of a shopping centre and office complex on Fort Road.
Wright was among the first Liberians to settle in Edmonton, Rev. Thomas Wilson said.
He said the tragedy is a crossroads for the young church.
Blamo comforted the congregation and spoke about loss Sunday, Wilson said. Blamo and his wife have four kids together.
“This is a time where our faith is tested,” he told the congregation.
“This is a moment where we search for an answer in the midst of our dark situation.”
He prayed for strength for the community.
“At this moment in time, in our church and our community and our family, I have a word from God,” he said. “And the word is: We still have a church.”
Eli Jones, who delivered the call to worship, reminded the church of the Biblical story of Job — whose faith was tested through tragedy. He asked God to give them strength and to heal the injured woman.
“We are in pain this morning, but God is good,” he said. “We want to thank God for sister Glorious Blamo, we want to thank God for sis’ Eva Tumbay, we want to thank God for sis’ Jeanette Wright for the time God gave us with them.”
At this moment in time, in our church and our community and our family, I have a word from God. And the word is: We still have a church.