OSV News photo/Elijah Nouvelage, ReutersWinder
St. Matthew Church comforting community following school shooting
By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer | Published September 6, 2024
WINDER — “I could really use my prayers right now. My school is getting shot up.”
The message arrived at 10:39 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, on youth minister Tania Martinez’s phone. The youth ministry program uses the Remind app to communicate as a group.
Many of her teen leaders at St. Matthew Church in Winder were caught up in the shooting at nearby Apalachee High School. One sent the message.
Martinez knows the high school community. Two of her children graduated from the school, and another attends middle school on the shared campus. Holding back emotions, she called the day “surreal.”
A 14-year-old student at the Barrow County school is accused of killing two students and two teachers.
Students who were killed were Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and the educators were Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irimie, reported the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
For the rest of Wednesday, Martinez’s phone pinged with messages as young people who worship at the parish checked in and consoled each other. Students have been in shock over the events and are trying to process what happened, she said.
The parish’s usual Wednesday evening Mass draws between 40 and 50 people. Hours after the tragedy, some 100 believers in grief and shock found support with each other as families with young people filled the pews. Father Gilbert Exumé, pastor, shared a message of comfort with those attending.
A community vigil was also held at Jug Tavern Park in Winder the same evening. Winder is located about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Martinez’s goal in the immediate days after the shooting is to let families and teens know the faith community is there for them, offering support in any way they need. The church community wants to “let everybody know the doors are open. We’re here for them,” she said. No person needs to mourn by themselves or think they are alone, she said.
Martinez said she wants all the young people to know of “God’s love and grace, and we are not alone.”
She is reminding the youth of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you.”
