Both the current and former pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Seal Beach, Calif., were quoted in the Orange County (Calif.) Register earlier this week regarding the school shooting in Connecticut. The article, headlined “Local sermons call on faith, action in response to school shootings,” quoted a number of spiritual leaders. A portion of the article appears below. Click here to read the complete article.
In Seal Beach, the Connecticut massacre wasn’t the focus of Sunday’s sermon at Grace Community Church in Old Town. But it was on everyone’s mind, said pastor emeritus Don Shoemaker.
“During prayer time, there was an extreme sense of bonding with that community,” Shoemaker said. “We understand in a small way what they are going through.”
Grace Community Church was one of several congregations that served the beach town following the mass slaying last year at Salon Meritage, where a gunman killed eight people and injured a ninth.
The message to the congregation from Grace Community senior pastor Steve Williams revolved around Christ as “the light of the world.”
“Certainly, this is a very dark side of our society. It’s unimaginable how people can carry out such horrific attacks, especially on children,” Williams said he told the congregation. “There is evil in the world, and that is part of the darkness. … For us, as Christians, we need to reflect Christ’s light.”
“This will change their town forever. We need to be bringing Christ into our community because they need light and hope,” Williams said.