Church members to meet Trump

President Donald Trump has invited members of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, the site of the deadly mass shooting that claimed 26 lives in November, to the White House.

Frank and Sherri Pomeroy, the church’s pastor and his wife, along with shooting survivor David Colbath, his son Morgan Colbath, and Sherri Pomeroy’s sister Sylvia Timmons, are to join the president Thursday for a prayer service at 11 a.m. for the National Day of Prayer.

“We did not expect a personal invitation to the White House from the President,” Sherri Pomeroy said by a text message. “When I received that email, I confirmed the legitimacy of the invitation and accepted, of course!”

This will be her first time in the nation’s capital, much less at the White House and, later that evening, the Capitol.

The five Sutherland Springs visitors will attend the National Day of Prayer’s evening services at the Capitol’s historic Statuary Hall. The Pomeroys will be interviewed by Pastor Ronnie Floyd, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and Frank Pomeroy will lead a short prayer — all live-streamed across the country.

They’ll also attend a private banquet the night before hosted by the task force.

One of the 26 killed in the massacre was the Pomeroy’s 14-yearold daughter, Annabelle.

“We are very honored that we are invited to the White House and asked to pray for our nation in this historic place,” Sherri Pomeroy said. “While this invitation is bittersweet because of the events that brought us to this place, may we never turn down a forum to share the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever it takes us.”