FREDERICTON – Clergy from a number of denominations and community members joined Anglicans Aug. 10 at a vigil for victims of the shootings that had taken place in the city earlier that day.
About 200 people attended the vigil, held at the Anglican church of St. John the Evangelist, off Brookside Drive, the street on which the shootings took place. Though organizers said they didn’t know beforehand whether anyone would show up, the church was full for the ceremony. In addition to church leaders were two dozen members of the media.
The Rev. Paul Ranson, rector of the church, opened the service. Bishop David Edwards, of the Diocese of Fredericton invited participants to light candles. “These candles represent the light of our solidarity – with each other, with those who have been greatly affected, and of course God’s solidarity with us,” he said. “That light is hard to see tonight, but as a minister of the Christian gospel, I can say God is here with us.”
The vigil, which also included readings of biblical passages and hymn-singing, was live-streamed by the CBC.
Four people, including two police officers, were killed by gunfire in the parking lot of a Fredericton apartment complex in the early morning of Aug. 10. Matthew Vincent Raymond has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with their deaths.
The New Brunswick Anglican
Did Paul visit Spain?