Church leaders pray for comfort, healing
Cornerstone Boulder had a prayer and vigil ser vice Wednesday to honor, remember and pray for the 10 residents who lost their lives during Monday’s mass shooting at King Soopers on Table Mesa Road.
“We hate that this is normal to our kids — to our students, to our college students that they go, ‘This feels familiar.’ And can we just ask in your power ful name that you would write a new story for them,” Grace Commons Pastor Ash Mcdonald prayed during Wednesday night’s vigil at Cornerstone Boulder.
Echoes of affirmation filtered among the 200-plus residents in attendance as Mcdonald continued to pray for the youth in Boulder who vividly remember the mass shooting that took place at Marjor y Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, and are now college students — many of whom are the same age as several of the victims who lost their lives in Monday’s shooting.
“These kids remember and now they may be afraid to go to the grocery store — not that long ago they prayed for what happened in Florida to please not let it happen in our city, and now they have witnessed it in our community,” Mcdonald added.
Niwot High School student and Cornerstone Boulder youth attendee,
Emma Quesada, 14, said, “We can hope for something better — there’s a lot of room for hope, and these things aren’t normal, so just hold onto hope.”
Emma’s mother, Kari Quesada, a
pastor at Cornerstone, also spoke at Wednesday’s vigil and read Psalm 34:18. “The Lord is close to the brokenhear ted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” she spoke softly before allowing the vigil attendees a moment to resonate on that Scripture.
Cornerstone Lead Pastor Brian Carlucci then read Romans 8:26-28 before reading each victim’s name and age aloud with a moment of silence between each victim, allowing for attendees to pray for their family members.
“If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans,” Carlucci said.
Cornerstone Pastor Gene Binder then shared a moment of lament and encouraged those in attendance to get their lamentations out also.
Pinewood Church Pastor Parker Manuel and Calvary Boulder Pastor Tom Shirk prayed over the victims and their families.
Cornerstone Boulder Pastor Tim Coressel lead the group into lighting the candles and individual prayer as well as moments of silence for the victims, their families, law enforcement, city officials and Boulder residents.
Other community leaders said brief prayers in closing. Boulder city official Eric Swanson prayed for city leaders, The Well Boulder Pastor Scott Gayer prayed for city leaders and Boulder Police Department Chaplin Steve Ward prayed for first responders.
Cornerstone leader Joyce Larson prayed for peace for the shooter, his family as well as the mental, emotional and spiritual health of all Boulder residents.
Andy Estrella, 30, and a Boulder resident who attends church nearby had one message for Boulder residents coping with the aftermath of Monday’s shooting, “God is close and here and in this time, He is close to all — always.”