Healing through Prayer
Healing through Prayer: Community attempts to find comfort aft...
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/healing-through-prayer-comm...
Healing through Prayer: Community attempts to find comfort after shooting
Diane Daniels POSTED: 11:43 PM EST Jan 19, 2014
ELKHART, Ind. In the four days that have passed since a violent shooting scene played out at the Martins on East Bristol in Elkhart, members of the community told us, over and over again, they were coping through prayer and faith.
1 of 2
1/27/14, 10:24 PM
Healing through Prayer: Community attempts to find comfort aft...
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/healing-through-prayer-comm...
And we saw that first hand Sunday at Elkhart churches on this first Sunday since the shootings that claimed the lives of 44-year-old Rachelle Godfread and 20-year-old Krystle Dikes. The Granger Community Church of Elkhart is just blocks away from the Martins where the makeshift memorial outside continues to grow. Church member, April Porter, typically visits both locations on Sundays. "I go over there right after church all the time," Porter said. She was one of many congregation members who gathered Sunday to lift their voices in song and to search for answers and seek solace after a week that tested the community's faith. It wasn't long into the service before Pastor Gene Troyer addressed the tragedy. "Father, for those in our community who protect and serve, for the men and women who watch over this community, for those officers involved in this situation, we pray for them as well," Troyer said with his head bowed as the congregation prayed with him. Church member, Nicole Graves, attended the noon service with her family on Sunday. Graves says, "I mean we are a little town, the city with a heart is what they say, so coming here for extra prayer and comfort to realize how precious life is." Church members, Doug and Christine Batton, live right by the Martin's. When they heard the sirens and saw the police presence they turned on the TV to learn an active shooter was in the store so close to their home. They locked their doors, turned out the lights, got the dog inside and sat in silence praying for those inside the store. They came to church to pray again this Sunday. "But for the families involved in the tragedy, it's going to stick with them forever - that is where I want to focus my prayers and my concern," Doug Batton explained. Throughout the services there were references to moving from the dark times to a place where the community can return to the light. Afterward as churchgoers talked and hugged, some shared tears. But many left comforted. "I feel a weight lifted, a little more peace and a little more strength," Christine Batton said afterward. And that was the pastor's goal. He closed saying, "God, we believe you have great days ahead for us." Copyright © 2014, WSBT-TV
© 2014 WSBT, Inc. | 1301 E. Douglas Road Mishawka, IN 46545
2 of 2
1/27/14, 10:24 PM
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/healing-through-prayer-comm...
Healing through Prayer: Community attempts to find comfort after shooting
Diane Daniels POSTED: 11:43 PM EST Jan 19, 2014
ELKHART, Ind. In the four days that have passed since a violent shooting scene played out at the Martins on East Bristol in Elkhart, members of the community told us, over and over again, they were coping through prayer and faith.
1 of 2
1/27/14, 10:24 PM
Healing through Prayer: Community attempts to find comfort aft...
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/healing-through-prayer-comm...
And we saw that first hand Sunday at Elkhart churches on this first Sunday since the shootings that claimed the lives of 44-year-old Rachelle Godfread and 20-year-old Krystle Dikes. The Granger Community Church of Elkhart is just blocks away from the Martins where the makeshift memorial outside continues to grow. Church member, April Porter, typically visits both locations on Sundays. "I go over there right after church all the time," Porter said. She was one of many congregation members who gathered Sunday to lift their voices in song and to search for answers and seek solace after a week that tested the community's faith. It wasn't long into the service before Pastor Gene Troyer addressed the tragedy. "Father, for those in our community who protect and serve, for the men and women who watch over this community, for those officers involved in this situation, we pray for them as well," Troyer said with his head bowed as the congregation prayed with him. Church member, Nicole Graves, attended the noon service with her family on Sunday. Graves says, "I mean we are a little town, the city with a heart is what they say, so coming here for extra prayer and comfort to realize how precious life is." Church members, Doug and Christine Batton, live right by the Martin's. When they heard the sirens and saw the police presence they turned on the TV to learn an active shooter was in the store so close to their home. They locked their doors, turned out the lights, got the dog inside and sat in silence praying for those inside the store. They came to church to pray again this Sunday. "But for the families involved in the tragedy, it's going to stick with them forever - that is where I want to focus my prayers and my concern," Doug Batton explained. Throughout the services there were references to moving from the dark times to a place where the community can return to the light. Afterward as churchgoers talked and hugged, some shared tears. But many left comforted. "I feel a weight lifted, a little more peace and a little more strength," Christine Batton said afterward. And that was the pastor's goal. He closed saying, "God, we believe you have great days ahead for us." Copyright © 2014, WSBT-TV
© 2014 WSBT, Inc. | 1301 E. Douglas Road Mishawka, IN 46545
2 of 2
1/27/14, 10:24 PM
