September 15, 2009 

In the 10 years since a gunman chose Wedgewood Baptist Church for his deadly rampage, the congregation has learned a lot about healing. But reminders of that day remain.

"God has been faithful and he's brought us through," Pastor Al Meredith told the morning congregation this past Sunday, according to The Associated Press. The church marked the Sept. 15, 1999, shooting with special service. "What makes us triumph is the grace he gives over us."

Seven people - four of them teenagers - were killed and five were injured during the rampage. No one really knows why 47-year-old Larry Ashworth walked into the Wednesday night prayer service in his mentally ill state and started shooting.

About 170 people were present for a See You at the Pole event, and many were from area churches. Ashworth turned the gun on himself after a 19-year-old stood up and said, "Sir, I know what you need. You need Jesus Christ in your life."

Today, a piece of shrapnel from the pipe bomb Ashworth set off is still embedded in the church ceiling. A bullet hole remains unpatched in church door.

Several of the victims' families came to the church's memorial service Sunday, when the congregation placed small, white "Ebenezer" stones in memory of the lives lost. A small, granite memorial also stands in permanent memory of Kristi Beckel, Joseph Ennis and Cassie Griffin, all 14; Justin Ray, 17; Kim Jones and Shawn Brown, both 23-year-old seminary students; and children's choir director Sydney Browning, 36.

Other victims like Justin Laird, 26, and Jeff Laster, 44, say they don't resent what happened to them.

"Right after it happened, I turned to the book of Job and thought that God allowed it to happen," Laster told The Associated Press. He met Ashworth at the church door, and was the first person to be shot. "We live in an imperfect world, but I know that God's in control."

Meredith has shared that message in dozens of interviews and services since the shooting. He recently spoke at the funeral for Fred Winters, a fellow pastor gunned down in his pulpit at First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill.

"Our services have always been positive and always been upbeat, but there is a place for 'It Is Well with My Soul.' And so the music is true, it's not phony," Meredith told Baptist Press. "We don't sing 'Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before' because that's not true. Even Jesus said, 'Stand against the evil days.' Some days are more evil than others. Jesus did promise us this - this is one of the promises we don't think is too precious: 'As long as you are in the world, you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.'"