Sutherland Springs: Worship resumes with call to overcome

Image Source: KSDK.com

By David Roach - Posted at Baptist Press:

Pomeroy, whose 14-year-old daughter was among the slain, said Nov. 12 in a brief address, "We have the power to choose, and, rather than choose darkness, like [the gunman] did that day, I say we choose life,"...

SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (BP) -- Pastor Frank Pomeroy's first message to the surviving members of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, was that they must overcome darkness with the light of Christ.

Seven days after a gunman killed 26 worship attendees, Pomeroy -- who was out of town during the Nov. 5 attack -- delivered his message at a tent worship service blocks away from the church property. More than 500 people attended the Nov. 12 service, according to media estimates. That same day, the church building was opened as a memorial to the slain.

Meanwhile, the North American Mission Board has conveyed to all 26 victims' families Southern Baptists' offer to cover funeral expenses. The precise combination of funding sources that will pay for each funeral is being determined by the families amid a plethora of government and private assistance offers, NAMB told Baptist Press. Yet, on behalf of Southern Baptists, NAMB is prepared to cover the full cost for each victim whose loved ones desire the gift.

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is helping to coordinate the funeral assistance offer.

Read more here.