08/12/2026
Father,
We come to You today with heavy, broken hearts. A child of this community — someone's son, someone's classmate, someone's friend — is gone. Taken in violence, in a place that should have been safe, on his way to school.
We don't have words for this, Lord. So we bring You our silence, our anger, our confusion, and our grief, trusting that You are near to the brokenhearted and You save those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).
We pray for his family right now — for a mercy and strength that only You can supply, for people to surround them who will simply sit with them in the dark rather than rush them toward the light too soon.
We pray for the fifteen students who watched this happen. Lord, cover them. Their innocence was interrupted this morning in a way none of us can fully understand. Give their parents wisdom, give their teachers and counselors discernment, and give those kids courage to talk about what they saw instead of carrying it alone. Be the shepherd who leads them beside still waters and restores their souls (Psalm 23:2-3), even now — especially now.
We pray for our own church family, for our children, for every parent driving their kids to school this week with a new kind of fear in their chest. Give us Your peace that surpasses understanding to guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7).
And Lord — we pray for this community. For the schools, the first responders, the neighbors who are hurting. Use West End to be a place of refuge. Help us to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).
We don't understand why evil like this happens. But we know You are not distant from it. You entered our suffering in Christ, and You promise that one day You will wipe away every tear, and death itself will be no more (Revelation 21:4).
Until that day, hold us. Hold this town. Hold that family.
In the name of Jesus,
Amen.