Darkness Had No Victory Over the Light
On the evening of September 15, 1999, just before 7:00 pm, a crazed gunman entered Wedgwood Baptist Church and opened fire, killing seven and wounding seven. Among those were several youth who were attending a youth activity, a “Saw You at the Pole” prayer rally. From the time he entered the building, the gunman fired over 100 rounds from two different handguns, and exploded a homemade pipe bomb in the Worship Center where the youth activity was being held. The gunman then sat down in the back of the Worship Center and ended his own life.

In the years since this tragedy took place, there have been tears, sadness, questions, lots of prayer, and of course, healing. In the days and weeks after the event the victims, their families, and the church saw an outpouring of love and support, not just from our community, but from across the world. We received cards, flowers, quilts, Bibles, posters, and emails, among other items, from people who wanted us to know they were praying for us and they supported us. We can never express completely how much this love and support meant and still means to us. It brought great comfort to us all.

In 2 Corinthians Chapter 1, the Bible talks about God as our Comforter. In verses 3-4 it says, “ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” We know that God was our comfort after the tragedy at Wedgwood. Even twenty plus years later, as we continue to walk in His comfort and healing, His strength, His love, and His comfort, allow us to reach out to others who are experiencing trouble in their life, and be a source of comfort to them.
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Our prayer is that you will allow God to comfort you, and that you will reach out to him and allow Him to be your hope, your peace, and your salvation.