Prayers for Aurora
(from the 2/21/19 NIC weekly eNews) After the tragic February 15 workplace shooting at the Henry Pratt Company, a manufacturing business in Aurora, Ill., Northern Illinois Conference churches and ministries offered prayers and vigils for the community. Students at the Wesley Foundation at Northern Illinois University, lit candles, wrote notes, and prayed for one of their fellow students who was killed in the rampage. Trevor Wehner, 21, was a human resources intern on his first day on the job last Friday when he was shot and killed. He planned to graduate NIU in May.
The Rev. Rosa Lee, NIU Wesley Foundation Campus Minister, said they held the vigil because they wanted to support Trevor’s family as well as acknowledge the loss of one of their own Huskies. “As a community, we came to support each other while grieving together,” said Lee. On Sunday, Feb 17, Bethany of Fox Valley UMC in Aurora invited all community members to come together for a morning prayer service to end mass shootings and heal those who have been harmed by the violence. The worship service opened by naming the victims, said the Rev. Sam Park, Bethany’s senior pastor. “During the entire service, tears, prayers, reflection, and new hope flowed through the gathering at Bethany of Fox Valley UMC,” said Park. Read more…