[1]FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)–As the first anniversary of the shooting at Wedgwood Baptist Church approaches, both the church and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary plan to hold memorial services.
It has been almost a year since Larry Ashbrook walked into the Fort Worth, Texas, church during a “See You at the Pole” youth rally Sept. 15 and shot and killed seven people and wounded seven others before committing suicide.
Southwestern will hold a memorial service Friday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m. on its Forth Worth campus in Truett Auditorium. Wedgwood pastor Al Meredith, Fort Worth Police Chief Ralph Mendoza, survivors of the shooting and victims’ family members will speak.
Chapel will be extended Thursday, Sept. 14, for the premiere of a special video on the ministry of one of the students killed in the shooting. “Going Home: The Journey of Kim Jones,” produced by Student Discipleship Ministries, features footage of Jones speaking at her parents’ church in Saudi Arabia only weeks before her death.
Jones had just begun her first semester at Southwestern when she was killed.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. at Wedgwood. The service will include four main thoughts: “Looking Up: Confidence in Worship,” “Looking Down: Confidence in Victory,” “Looking Back: Confidence in God’s Faithfulness” and “Looking Forward: Confidence in Hope.”
[2]Several of the victims’ family members, including Kathy Jo Brown, wife of slain Southwestern student Shawn Brown, and Stephanie Jones, Kim’s mother, will speak during the service. The church’s youth creative ministries team will present a drama originally intended to be performed the night the shooting occurred.
Wedgwood’s sanctuary, where most of the shooting took place, will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 15 for a special time of prayer.
Wedgwood’s youth will hold a “See You at the Pole” rally Wednesday, Sept. 20.
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