January 26, 2000
Ashbrook family donates
$10,000 to Wedgwood
___FORT WORTH--The family of the gunman who opened fire and killed seven and wounded seven others at Wedgwood Baptist Church has donated $10,000 to the Fort Worth congregation.
___Aaron Ashbrook, brother of gunman Larry Gene Ashbrook, presented the check to Wedgwood Pastor Al Meredith during a December ceremony at Altamesa Church of Christ in Fort Worth. The an act also marked a milestone in new relations between the divergent but neighboring congregations.
___When Aaron Ashbrook handed over to Wedgwood $10,000 from the sale of the trashed Fort Worth property where his brother had lived, the family experienced some much-needed closure.
DANNY SIMS, senior minister at Altamesa Church of Christ, helped members of Larry Gene Ashbrook's family connect with leaders of Wedgwood Baptist Church. (RNS photo)
___Meredith, in an interview, said the $10,000 gift was comprised of three checks from Ashbrook and two sisters, so that "each one of the family members donated their portion of the inheritance to the church."
___Ashbrook still could not bring himself to visit the place his brother had killed seven people and then committed suicide, explained family friend Lewis Ard. So Ashbrook asked Ard to arrange a meeting with Wedgwood representatives.
___A member at Altamesa Church of Christ, Ard enlisted Altamesa Senior Minister Danny Sims to help with the plans. Meredith was accompanied by church administrator Mike Holton, the chairman of the deacons and two staff members who had been shot in the September attack--counselor Kevin Galey and custodian Jeff Laster.
___Among those present from Altamesa were Sims, Ard and additional church representatives.
___Sims reported that Ashbrook began the meeting with a statement about his deep personal feelings of regret. After Ashbrook spoke, Sims continued, Meredith asked if he could lead a song and pray. The Baptist pastor then began the familiar, "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love."
___The December meeting was not the first time the September tragedy brought the two churches together.
___The Altamesa church held a prayer service for its stricken Baptist neighbors the night after the killings.
___The following Saturday, Meredith said, members from Altamesa showed up at Wedgwood to see if they could help. "Our church was all at the funeral," he explained.
___So the Altamesa members weeded a flower bed in preparation for thenext day's services, Meredith said. Wedgwood administrator Holton said Altamesa members also helped remove damaged church pews so that chairs could be set up for Sunday worship.
___Meredith commented, "They've been good neighbors through this."
___"It's terrible it takes a tragedy to get us together," Sims added.
___He fears there is "a truckload of ... pent-up anguish over the divisions and animosities ... between the Baptists and Churches of Christ."
___Meredith was unsure how the $10,000 donated by the Ashbrook family would be used. "There are so many ministry needs ongoing," he said.
___As the congregation seeks healing after the tragedy, the pastor senses a deepened sense of commitment, pointing especially to the zeal of the young people.
___But many suffer. Adults and children battle depression, and members startle when car exhaust backfire brings back the painful memories of gunshots.
___"Forgiveness is a process," Meredith said. While requiring human effort, it is ultimately "a work of grace." Forgiveness is not "pardoning" offenders, a concept Meredith associates with the legal system, but occurs "when you begin to see them through God's eyes."
___"We'll never get over this," he said, "but by God's grace we'll get through it."
___Compiled from Religion News Service and Baptist Press reports
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