TABER, Alberta, Canada (BP)–Acknowledging that without Christ he would want revenge, Pastor Dale Lang prayed for the 14-year-old boy who killed his son in the hallway of the high school in this small town 170 miles southeast of Calgary.
He also prayed for the families of those who had lost sons and daughters at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., the week before the Taber shooting.
Leading his church worship service May 2, just four days after his son’s death, the pastor of St. Theodore’s Anglican Church spoke briefly, directing the rest of the Sunday service in prayer and song. His wife, Diane, sang with the choir.
“Twenty-five years ago, when I wasn’t a Christian,” Lang said, “if this had happened, I would have wanted revenge. I would have wanted to kill somebody.” He noted being a Christian has helped him with his feelings, even when he learned the young gunman showed no remorse when he was apprehended and led away as he looked down at his victims. The other wounded young man, Shane Christmas, has been transferred to a hospital in Calgary where he is recovering from a bullet wound near his spine.
Lang prayed, “The poor boy who did this shooting has a mangled mind and broken heart. We ask that he might find You. We also pray for his family. Protect them from misdirected anger.” He prayed for the boy’s siblings, that they “can walk in this town [without reprisals].”
The young man cannot be identified in the media because of Canada’s Young Offenders Act. However, almost everyone in Taber knows his name. Lang did not call him by name.
“The world needs you so much, Lord. If they’d accepted you, this never would have happened.”
Lang also prayed for the families of the 15 dead in the Columbine tragedy.
“When the media is gone and the lights are turned off and people don’t talk any more about it, families will still have homes with empty bedrooms.”
Lang has been pastor of the Taber church for 12 years. Built in 1907 with stained glass windows and narrow wooden pews, the church was filled with flowers. In the foyer was a bulletin board with the title “The Real Jason” and snapshots of the teenager in different activities; including him as a young boy ice skating, one of his football team at W.R. Myers High School, one of him changing a tire, and several of his church youth mission trip to Mexico. At the front of the sanctuary was a banner with the words, “Hail Thou Prince of Life.” The church sanctuary can seat only about 100 people, but an adjacent room was provided with a screen and closed circuit televised coverage of the church service for the overflow of visitors.
Lang and his wife set the tone of the service, controlled in their demeanor and even joyful in their singing. As Lang prayed for an end to violence and for those grieving, he was most emotional when he prayed for Jason’s friends, including a plea for Shane Christmas’ full recovery.
Jason was a 17-year-old junior who had bought a second-hand car just three days before his death. Lang had been teaching him to drive a stick-shift car before school the morning of his death. Lang and Christmas were shot on their way to class following their lunch break about 1 p.m. April 28.
Lang noted the sorrow of school administrators and teachers and “the hurting kids who are afraid to go back to school.” He and his family chose to have the memorial service at the high school in order to “reclaim” it.
During the service, held the day after Sunday’s worship service, the family and school leaders walked to the spot where Jason was killed and Shane was injured and prayed for the students to not be afraid. He also spoke to the mourning crowd about eternal life.
