(Seguin) – Nineteen small wooden chairs and two rockers sat empty as they circled around a wooden cross on the lawn of Emanuel’s Lutheran Church. The lawn centerpiece served as a reminder of all the lives lost during last week’s tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Here in Seguin, religious leaders of all denominations gathered Tuesday night outside the church to remember each of the 19 students and two teachers whose lives were all cut way too short.
Among those leading the public in prayer during the Community Vigil was Kelsie Theiss, associate pastor at Emanuel’s Lutheran Church. Theiss spoke of the grief process that we are all experiencing.
“The news of Tuesday May 24th, 2022, and the loss of 21 innocent lives has ripped our hearts and torn our souls. We are walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death in the depths of pain and anger, we gather before you oh God, our rock, and our refuge. You are our only comfort. You are our only hope,” said Theiss.
Pastor Marion Dolford, of Greater Refuge Church and chair of the Guadalupe County Ministerial Alliance, was also among the pastors leading the short but solemn ceremony.
“It was your purpose for humans to live together in peace. In this time of grief over gun violence, we pray for your presence among us that trusting in your mighty and gentle healing, we may live in hope we pray,” said Dolford.
TLU Campus Pastor Wesley Cain also spoke to those in attendance, providing direction for healing so that we can all live the lives that we deserve.
“You have a chance to speak hope where it is missing. You have a chance to speak life into a place of death. Take that opportunity now and look for that opportunity in days to come as well,” said Cain.
Working to bring the community together was Pastor Marcus Bigott of Emanuel’s Lutheran Church. Bigott in a thank you following the event applauded his colleagues for coming together and sharing the love of Seguin with those not only in Uvalde but all across the nation who are also in mourning.
“That we are communities united. That we are people who are standing in the midst in the face of atrocities and of loss and of grief and of death and we are standing with those who have lost unbelievable things likes lives, children, loved ones, kids, spouses – that we stand together with those families, with those people. We want them to know that the grace of our God is with them even in the midst of this atrocious stuff. That the community of Seguin stands with them and for those that couldn’t be here today that they can lift up those people in prayer. They can act by writing cards and sending them to the schools letting those teachers and students and families know that they are not alone. That there are people out there who love them and care of them even in the midst of the worst of the worst. That they are not alone and for those that want to, there are ways in which they can financially help too if they would like to do that as well. There are so many ways out there to do that. But from here today and from the unity we show today, it’s about being community together and not leaning into difference, not leaning into what divides us but was unifies us and that’s the grace and love of God,” said Bigott.
In addition to gathering for song and prayer, individuals were encouraged to sign cards for the families and folks impacted by the tragedy. Those cards were sealed and mailed Wednesday to the victims’ families in Uvalde. Other churches who took part in the community vigil were Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church, Friedens United Church of Christ and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
