NEWTOWN, Conn. (BP) -- Area Southern Baptists are preparing to provide
any assistance that may be needed for families impacted by Friday
morning's mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, where at
least 27 were killed, including 20 children.
Bryan Sims, pastor
of Southbury Baptist Church about 15 minutes from the school, said hours
after the tragedy he was contacting members to see if any of them were
directly impacted. A resident from the Newtown area has been visiting
Southbury for a few months, Sims said.
"We're all very grieved,
definitely praying for those who are going through that down in Newtown.
It's such a tragedy. It's one thing when it's adults, but when it's
little children being killed, it's just hard to fathom," Sims said.
"I've emailed everybody in the church and put it on our church Facebook
page that ... I'm here to talk, pray if anybody needs to. I'm kind of
gauging the response right now. I'm not sure if people want to come to
the church or if they want to be with their families right now."
Itamar
Maciel, interim pastor of the Spanish-language-speaking All Nations
Church, a Southern Baptist plant in nearby Danbury, said his church will
sponsor a community prayer meeting Saturday at 7 p.m. in response to
the tragedy.
He said the children of his 100 members are likely
enrolled in public schools in Danbury, rather than Sandy Hook
Elementary, the scene of the mass shooting.
The tragedy unfolded
when one or two gunmen entered the school and began shooting. Police
were still on the scene Friday afternoon (Dec. 14); the presumed shooter
was dead inside the school with other victims.
Sims said Southbury could itself use prayer to know the best way to respond to the tragedy.
"We're just here to reach out to anybody we can," Sims said.
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