Following the fatal stab wounds of 17-year-old student-athlete Austin Metcalf at a high school track competition, his pastor has taken steps to help heal the community. John McKinsey, pastor of Hope Fellowship East in Frisco, Texas, said the trauma extends beyond his church, where Metcalfe’s family attends.
The incident was “larger than our church and our family,” McKinzie told CBS News Texas. The pastor explained why he accepted the counselling group’s offer to hold a grief workshop at the church, saying, “It’s the whole community that’s trying to understand this.”
As church leaders reported, Metcalf died on April 2nd from a stab wound to the heart. This is also 17. (Metcalf is white and Anthony is black.)
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The Texas Church strives to heal after Austin Metcalf’s death
On April 8th, Hope Fellowship East offered a free “Navigating Trauma” seminar for “people affected by this unimaginable tragedy.” On social media, the church “recognizes that this tragedy has a much wider impact and prays for healing and reconciliation within the community.”
McKinsey ended the service on April 6th by reading from Poem Sal 34. “I felt it was important to help us focus in the right direction,” the pastor told reporters. Saying that tragedy often separates us from God, the pastor emphasized that he wanted to remind the congregation to “get closer to the Bible (God).”
McKinzie also advised worshipers to “beware of what we post” on social media. If people feel the need to post something, he says, “Post the Bible. It’s a positive thing to point us in the right direction.”
John McKinsey, Pastor Texas: Make the most of your God-given life
McKinsey has also urged the congregations to pray for all involved because “two families… are hurt.” He said, “At the heart of my existence, at the heart of our church’s culture and mission, everyone is important to God… and if they are important to God, they are important to me. They are important to us.”
When asked to “take home” from the tragedy, McKinzie mentioned James 4:14, referring to that life is steam. The pastor advised people not to “wash time,” but to “make the most of the life we ​​have.” Instead of focusing on the challenge, whether financially, physically, related or spiritually, Mckinzie recommended that we focus on using what God has given us.
