Next week, 25 July, will mark the 25th anniversary of the St. James Massacre. So for the Reformation Society and as part of a Henry Morton Stanley School of Christian Journalism, we're wanting to focus on this and see what lessons there are that we can learn from the St. James Massacre just 25 years ago. 25 July marks the anniversary of a dreadful atrocity in Cape Town, a terrorist attack on St. James Church of England in Kenilworth, which left 11 people dead and 50 wounded. At about 7.30 p.m. on Sunday, the 25th of July, 1993, while a congregation of 1,400 listened to a hymn of worship, a group of uplit terrorists burst into the church and opened fire with automatic weapons. Now, you can't trust everything you get in the newspaper. They say AK-47s. Actually, they weren't. You'll hear more about that later. But remember, anything in the newspaper isn't necessarily true. Here's some eyewitness accounts. I noticed the handle of the side door facing the congregation turn, and then the doors were kicked open. A black man wearing some kind of overall was standing in the doorway. He was carrying an assault rifle. As he stepped forward, he raised the rifle, cocked it, and fired it in full automatic directly into the congregation. Another eyewitness described it this way. I saw this man kick open the door next to the stage and holding his rifle from the hip, he opened up and a spraying bullets across a wide arc into the packed congregation. But before he even opened fire, two other black men who seemed to be wearing some olive green uniforms, lobbed two hand grenades into the center of the church. There was this trail of smoke from the grenades and a few puffs of smoke from the first shots fired. The grenades were still in the air when he started firing. You can see from this map of the church, the stage area where the pulpit would be. The singers were here. The side door, which is where my father used to go in his wheelchair in the last years of his life, accessed through this ramp. He used to park on the side. The getaway car was parked on 3rd Avenue, Kenilworth. and they were meaning to come into two different sites to catch people and crossfire but this door remained shut. Our man was sitting about four rows in at the back on this side here. Still quoting from eyewitnesses, as I dived under the pew for cover I heard two grenades explode. I looked up and saw pews sticking up into the air. The firing went on for a while and then suddenly everything was quiet. For many years Frontline Fellowship has taken the gospel into war zones. on Sunday the 25th of July 1993, the war zones came to us. Our mission headquarters was just a few meters from St. James on the same road, 3rd Avenue in Kenilworth. Several of our members, several of our workers were members of St. James and both my father and my brother were converted at St. James by the ministry of Bishop Frank Retief. I'd just been singing with my daughter, Andrea, and was about to pray with her before putting her to bed when a phone rang. It was the worst nightmare Peter St. James has been attacked by terrorists, we heard. I sped to the church and my mind just reeled with the implications. I thought of my many friends at St. James and I prayed that they would be safe. And vivid memories of blood-splattered churches and scenes of massacres in Mozambique and Angola were filling my mind as I drove to St. James. And as if in sympathy with the storm in many hearts, lightning flashed across the sky and the heavens wept in a blinding downpour of torrential rain. And above the roar of the rain, the air was filled with wailing sirens as convoys of ambulances and police vehicles and fire engines converged upon Third Avenue Kenworth, creating a monumental traffic jam. Flashing lights, flashing lightning, lit up a scene of dazed survivors fleeing from the church, weeping churchgoers, praying in the rain, frantic relatives searching for loved ones. The tiles in the foyer were smeared with blood, and inside the church there were several bodies lying on the blood-stained carpets, or on shrapnel-scarred pews, and some wooden pews were overturned. There was a hole in the floor where one grenade had exploded. Prayer books, music sheets, welcome cards, Bibles were strewn across the pools of blood. The ceiling was pockmarked with shrapnel. Rescue workers were working swiftly and pretty efficiently. Some of the wounded were being cared for inside the church. Others were being carried out in stretchers to the waiting ambulances. A broken pew was used to transport at least one person. There weren't enough stretchers. Pockets of Christians sat or stood holding hands and praying, including this man who just lost his wife minutes before. The police moved swiftly to clear the sanctuary of all but emergency workers. Here you can get a bit of a view from the back of the church a distance. This is about from the stage, the entrance, where the entrance was to the right here. And it was that back door that was locked. that they also planned to come through and Charles was sitting four seats in, four pews in on the left side. Then the police began to separate eyewitnesses for questioning and I located several friends and began to help serve tea to the shock survivors. It was about the only thing I found I could do of any use. There's a lot of people around and obviously people in a state of shock. Only late as I began to hear the different testimonies of those involved did the full scale of the horror actually strike me. It was much worse than it seemed. Mrs. Marita Ackerman was shot in the chest at close range. She died about 30 minutes after arriving in the hospital. Marita had twice triumphed over cancer. She had helped start an outreach ministry to Khayelitsha. She had initiated an outreach to Russian and Ukrainian seamen through the harbor in Cape Town. Marita left behind her husband, three children, Bram, Liesel, and Pierre. She was buried on her birthday. Seventeen-year-old Richard O'Kill died instantly from bullets through his head as he flung himself across two young friends. He'd actually pulled these friends down, Liesel and Bonnie, to shield him from the line of fire. And then he saw one had stayed up, and he went up, covered her with his body, and pulled her down again and took a bullet in the head while he was rescuing her. 21-year-old Gerard Harker died instantly as he dived on top of one of the hand grenades that landed in the aisle. And knowing how many people would be affected by that, he made the instant decision to cover the grenade with his body to protect the lives of the people around him. A police spokesman praised the selfless acts of Gerard and said his acts of sacrifice had undoubtedly saved the lives of many others by absorbing most of the blast. In many cemeteries, especially war cemeteries, you'll see John 1513 listed. Greater love has no one in this than that he laid down his life for his friends. Jared's brother, 13-year-old Wesley, also died in the attack. They left behind their elder brother, Sean, and parents, Dennis and Dawn Harker. Four of the slain were Russian sailors. Valentine Vareksa, Pavel Velujev, Audrey Kajal and Oleg Karamzin. Another victim was Guy Javins. And those are the people who died. Then there's the wounded, 55 people seriously injured, some people crippled for life. One of the victims crippled in the attack, the most heart-rending situation was that of the Ukrainian sailor, Dmitry Makagon. Both his legs were ripped off when one hand grenade fell in his lap. At this point, he was right over where that pool of blood is. His right arm had to be amputated, both his eardrums burst in a blast. Dimitri, who was 23 years old, was earning money as a sailor in order to pay for his wedding upon his return. And his mother was flown out by the church. The St. James Church also flew out his fiance, Olga, and they started a fund for the victims of the massacre. And he got his whole new start in life here in physio. One of the readers of the Tatler magazine literally gave Dimitri a home. A medical student, Jillian Schoenbroecker, narrowly escaped death when a piece of shrapnel pierced her lung and an artery. Her feet were also badly damaged, yet she sang a hymn to comfort her friends as she lay bleeding on the church floor. Several survivors expressed amazement that more people had not been killed, and the police investigators agreed. Nails had been attached to the M26 fragmentary hand grenades to provide additional shrapnel. If Jared had not covered the one grenade with his body, many more would have been killed. If another member of the congregation had not shot back, apparently wounding one of the terrorists, then many more would have been murdered. After the grenades explode, one of our frontline missionaries, Shalfan Vake, returned fire with a... snub-nosed .38 revolver, apparently wounding the terrorist who was firing into the congregation. This is a more recent picture, but just to give you a feel of the distance, that's the door the terrorist came in through. Charles was sitting at the back there, four rows in by that door, which was locked on that stormy night, which normally would have been open. Many a time, I came late to St. James, and I'd slip in through that very door, park my motorbike. and walk through there, take off my helmet as I came through the door. And it normally is open. And Charles said he was sitting there hearing rattling at the door. And he was tempted to get up and open. He was wondering why is the usher not opening the door. Obviously somebody's late. And the man was so distracted by the beautiful singing he didn't open the door. And praise God they didn't. Crossfire would have been catastrophic. The shooting stopped and the attackers fled. Charles then pursued the terrorist into the parking lot. So he came out this back door and from the corner of the building fired from cover on the terrorist who had the car. He pursued the terrorists in the parking lot and seeing them standing with weapons at the ready, apparently to shoot down any survivors as they exited the church, Charles again fired at them, the last three shots he had in his snub-nosed revolver. At this, they fled in their getaway car and sped off down 3rd Avenue, as described here in St. James Church. Our mission headquarters would have been just about there, at 93 3rd Avenue. When the police later recovered the terrorist getaway car, bloodstain indicated that at least one of the attackers was wounded. You'll hear more about this later on. and reward was offered and we'll hear about the investigation later. If you compare the St. James massacre with similar atrocities in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola and Sudan, it becomes apparent that many more people would have died had Shah al-Nahd fired back. An official commendation by the regional commissioner, Lieutenant General Ucker, stated on 25 July 1993, Charles Adrian van Veeck endangered his own life in warding off the attack perpetrated on the St. James Congregation in Kenilworth. His action in pursuing the suspects on foot and returning fire prevented further loss of life. One of the suspects wounded in the incident was later arrested. Investigations later indicated that the Upland terrorists had planned also to attack the nearby Christchurch in Kenworth. The resistance experienced at St. James by Charles shooting back and wounding one of the attackers apparently convinced the Upland terrorists to cancel attack on Christchurch. If that's so, many more lives were saved. We also heard that they had petrol bombs to throw inside the church and planned to then barricade the doors. That would have greatly increased death toll if so. Here's a letter from Bishop Frank Retief on the 18th of August, three weeks later. I only learned this week that it was you who reacted on the night of 25 July and drove the terrorists out of the church by returning fire. I'm writing to express my personal gratitude to you for your quick thinking action. The police have indicated to us that had it not been for this, the disaster could have been much greater. Please accept my thanks on behalf of the Church Council of St. James. I understand some criticism has been levelled at you for your actions. In fact, he was attacked by none other than Bishop Desmond Tutu on the front page of the newspaper, the morning paper of the 26th. In other words, attacks late on Sunday night. The next morning paper front page has a picture of Desmond Tutu condemning Charles van Weyk, What is a congregant doing with a gun in church? This is not on, he said. You can't have congregants going to church with a gun. I mean, you're making the work environment of the terrorists much harder. We can't have people shooting back. And so he was attacked, and there was a lot of criticism for Scholl. And we, in fact, conveyed to Frank Retief, isn't it time to acknowledge what he's done? Because he's getting a lot of attacks, and here's a person going through his own trauma, and yet he's being criticized by fellow church members that what he did was wrong. And I thought something from the pulpit should be said. Nevertheless, a private letter was given. I understand some criticism has been leveled at you for your actions. However, I personally have not heard any criticism and suggest you ignore any such comments. Many people have expressed their admiration for the way you reacted in an emergency. And I want you to know that from the point of view of the leadership of our church, we think your actions on that night were justified. Please be encouraged and may the Lord continue to bless you and help you in your Christian life. Sincerely, Frank Retief. So that's from the Cape Area Bishop's Office. In numerous reports on the St. James Massacre, the questions have been asked, who could possibly want to attack a congregation of Christians worshipping in a church? What could anyone hope to accomplish through such senseless slaughter? To these questions, Christians have added another question. How should we as Christians respond to persecution? When I saw the shocking carnage at St. James Church, it immediately brought back similar bloody scenes flooding back into my mind. Over those 36 years of missionary work, I've personally come across similar atrocities, especially in Angola. For example, at Chalisa Evangelical Church in Angola, Cuban troops shot 150 Christians during a church service, including the pastor Aurelio Sanchez. In Rwanda, more people were murdered in churches and schools and hospitals than everywhere else. I personally waded knee-deep in corpses in a church, 1,200 dead people in Natarama Church alone. In northern Nigeria, just in one month sorry just in a five-year period 1,000 churches were attacked in Nigeria with 17,000 Christians killed between 2010 and 2015. In Sudan, I've had 1,200 preaching opportunities in southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains. I don't think I've ever preached in a school or a church that hasn't been bombed at least once. Sometimes 18 times in a 12-month period. One church I ministered in Calder in the Nuba Mountains. Another church had been bombed 10 times in a previous year. like the birthplace of Christianity in Southern Sudan, Fraser Cathedral in Lui. In Mozambique, in August 1983, Filima troops killed five pastors and burnt down five churches in Mosquito Village in Zambesia Province. In September 1983, Filima troops killed over 50 Christians and burnt a church down in Pasura Village. At Elam Mission Station in Zimbabwe, what was then Rhodesia, 13 missionaries and their children were murdered in June 1978. At New Adams Farm in Zimbabwe in 1987, 16 missionaries and their children were murdered, brutally. These are the most lovely people, and they were pacifists. just like the ones at Elam, pacifist Pentecostal missionaries who had no weapons, who had no animosity to anyone. They were just generous, gentle, kind people targeted by Marxist mass-murdering thugs, destroying their magnificent work, which was bringing joy and love to many people. The memorial service in nearby Bulawayo for the New Adams Farm murders. And so when you consider the attacks that had happened before, like Boko Haram terrorists and Muslim mobs destroying 11, no, 1,000 churches, killing 17,000 Christians in Nigeria in five years, and in Sudan, how many hundreds of churches have been bombed and burned? Hundreds of churches have been attacked in Egypt. Ethiopia, Eritrea, and all churches in Somalia were destroyed in 1993, the same year that St. James was attacked. So if you consider what has happened in other church attacks around the world, especially in Africa, it's extraordinary that more people didn't die at St. James. There were 1,400 people there that night. You could continue to recount literally hundreds of similar atrocities against Christian churches, and yet you'll have people in some churches saying, No congregant should be allowed to carry a firearm into a church. Well, he's only going to use it if somebody attacks them. Surely what we should be upset about is that terrorists would come into a church to murder people. What's wrong with somebody having a weapon who's a law-abiding citizen who would only use it to defend people in the event of an attack? The fact is churches have often been the target of Muslim extremists and Marxist terrorists. The aim of persecution is not to kill Christians. Sending believers to meet the Lord in heaven hardly achieves the purposes of evil. No, the aim of persecution is to shock Christians into fear and inactivity, to paralyze and neutralize the church, to shut us up, that we will be quiet. Only if we give in to this fear and allow ourselves to be intimidated into silence and compromise, only then would the enemy achieve his objectives. In this context, it was shameful that some sought to exploit such tragedies to enhance their own public image or to promote interfaith services. Just one, for example, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who made such, he was, how he got his press statements in so early that the morning newspapers on Monday the 26th had his picture and everything. I heard from all over the world, what does he hear about a black church being attacked by white terrorists in Cape Town? No, it's actually the other way around. No, but one of Desmond Tutu's church was attacked by white terrorists, and because his picture was out there, and he's known as the Anglican, he hijacked this, because he was only... Frank Retief was too busy counselling the people who had lost loved ones. He didn't put out a press statement for weeks. And so... For the first week, all over the world, when the news was headlines, the impression was a Desmond Tutu church has been attacked because he's for liberation, he's for Mandela, and obviously it's some right-wing extremists who've done this attack. And he got millions of pounds and DMARC and dollars pouring in because he hijacked the whole thing and there was a huge amount of misunderstanding. And it got worse. Of course, his first words of condemnation were for Sholfenbeck, our missionary, for having a 38th special in a church. No apparent criticism, and I studied the paper very carefully, for the people carrying assault rifles into the church and grenades. So as I wrote in the following letter to a Cape newspaper, the Cape Times and the Cape August, we both printed it, it is hard for us to take politicians or Archbishop Tutu seriously when they so shamelessly milk tragedies like the St. James Massacre for media coverage and to advance their political agenda. I find it offensive that certain priests and politicians have cynically exploited the Sunday massacre for their own political ends. With the ANC's abysmal human rights record of planting landmines in farm roads, car bombs in public streets, and limpet mines in shopping centers and restaurants, they are the last people of the right to condemn violence. ANC, actually, come on, we condemn this violence. Like the Church Street bombing, just for, off the top of my head. The thousands of victims of ANC necklace murders, the petrol bomb attacks, the stonings, the shootings, and those dissidents tortured in ANC concentration camps bear eloquent testimony to ANC's real position on violence. As for Desmond Tutu, here he is. See, God's word above all things. This is the entrance to St. James. How could he barge into St. James and lie to the policeman on duty, claiming that he was the head of the denomination when the police said you can't come in, it's a crime zone? He said, I'm the archbishop in charge of the denomination. Well, how are the policemen to know that he wasn't, in order to gain access to the site of the massacre? Most people are not aware that the Church of England in Salafiqah, Church of England Salafiqah, CESA, is an entirely separate denomination by law from Tutu's Church of the Province Salafiqah. All over the world, Anglican and Church of England is synonymous, but not in South Africa. Legally, there's a split. The Church of England in South Africa is evangelical, more conservative. The Church of the Province of the Anglicans are the liberals, and part of the world counts churches. There's a big, huge gap legally since the days of Bishop Graham Kelenzo, but that's another story. But even though most people aren't aware of this, surely Desmond Tutu's aware he's not the head of the Church of England. In fact, he knows that because Church of England has regularly had lawsuits from the Anglican Church. And Bishop Stephen Bradley, in his book, in his memoirs, documented how Anglican priests murdered Church of England ministers in Zuland. How there was not only hijacking of churches, legal things, theft, there was murders. to take over Church of England congregations and put them part of the Anglicans. And Stephen Bradley was straightforward about the fact of where they stood. And that's why he had on every Church of England bulletin board, notice board, and letterhead in no way affiliated with the World Council of Churches, which sadly has fallen off lately. Continuing with my letter to the August in the Cape Town, for Tutu to have gained access for his media entourage to St. James by deception and then to have desecrate the sanctuary by turning it into a media circus to exploit this tragedy for his image overseas is despicable. The pictures of him walking around the church. pretending to weep and so on, brought him millions, tens of millions, donations all over because they thought it was his church attack. I mean, most people don't read the text. They just see the picture. The image was there's Desmond Tutu. He got all the media coverage, and the media was not interested in what Bishop Frank Retif had to say. Other political activists in the guise of the priesthood have suggested that we use this opportunity for a reconciliation service, which went ahead, actually. Cape Town City Hall. St. James is a fully multiracial church that has opened its doors to all races at all times. St. James has an outreach to Carlicia. In fact, that very year, one of the missionaries to Carlicia got shot dead in the township. And St. James offers Bible studies in Causa on a weekly basis. We have always worked for reconciliation first to God and then to man. St. James does not have to use this tragic event to prove its commitment to reconciliation. The Church of England in South Africa is an evangelical denomination which holds the inerrancy of the Bible as God's perfect word. Church of England holds the full deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and his bodily resurrection from the grave. We proclaim salvation by the grace of God through the atonement of Christ received by faith. For this reason it would betray the martyrs who were killed on Sunday if we were to participate in an interfaith service with those who reject this gospel. And this is from a newspaper cutting of the interfaith service where they had all kinds of witch doctors and so on and a rabbi and imam and what have you coming along at this thing where they had upload terrorists and so on on the stage. And it's a circus. And sadly, some St. James people went there, but none of the leadership that I'm aware of. Conclusion to my letter to the press. The greatest tribute and memorial which we could erect in honor of the victims of this massacre would be for us to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and his word, the Bible. May many more come to Christ in true faith and repentance. So that's the letter, quote, unquote. I noticed that every time the negotiation process stalled and reached a deadlock, some high-profile atrocity occurred, which was then used to accelerate the process of hurting this country towards a transitional executive control, which the socialist liberation forces desired. Their expressions of outrage were hard to take seriously. Their actions stained with the blood of thousands of innocent victims, spoke far more loudly than their words. Which brings us to the third question. How should we as believers respond to persecution? In any crisis or tragedy, we need to turn to God and cast all of our burdens and all of our frustrations upon Him in prayer. We need to seek answers and guidance from studying the word of God. Many survivors of similar atrocities have found tremendous comfort and strength through praying the Psalms, the biggest book of the Bible, the middle book of the Bible, the prayer book of the Bible. It deals with everything, grief and frustration and anger and guilt and shame and all the different human emotions, everything we can go through. It's all in the Psalms and we need to pray the Psalms. At the midweek service, three days after the massacre, the Wednesday night service, the church was packed almost to capacity. Bishop Frank Retief opened the service by reading Psalm 11. In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me, flee like a bird to a mountain? For look, the wicked bend their bows. They set the arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows against the upright and hot. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men. His eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur. A scorching wind will be their lot. By the way, this picture here I took in Lansdowne Road. This is a PAC mob marching to Claymont Police Station to demand the release of Mackay, who they thought was locked up there. And I saw in the front row Patricia DeLille, or Cruella DeVille, along with all of them chanting, one minister, one bullet, one church, one bomb. Kill the Boer, kill the farmer. One minister, one bullet, one church, one bomb. They were chanting this right outside the police station. I'm still quoting though from Psalm 11. For the Lord is righteous. He loves justice. Upright men will see his face. So that was the reading on that first service at St. James after the attack. Frank Retief said that many had commented on the calmness of the St. James congregation in the face of this tragedy. While we are shocked, stunned, shattered, hurt, and angry at the senselessness of what has happened, we also have a sense of peace. At the Sunday evening service, one week after the massacre, over 2,000 packed the church and the overflow facilities. If the aim of the terrorists had been to terrify people into avoiding the church, they'd clearly failed. I must say, there are some people who were there that night who've never returned to St. James. The trauma was too great. But others came. At that service, Reverend Frank Retief outlined a biblical response to the tragedy, which I summarized as follows. The world is not a home. We are pilgrims passing through. Do make a meaningful contribution to improving society, but don't get too caught up in materialism and personal ambitions. We don't live forever. We must believe in a day of judgment. If evil is not finally punished, then this world is meaningless. The wicked may seem to prosper for a time, but a just God will deal with wickedness. As Christians, we have the spiritual resources to cope with such tragedy. Life is uncertain. None of us knows how long we will live. Spiritual apathy is dangerous. We need to be jolted awake. There is a constant need to reexamine ourselves. Is your faith genuine or nominal? Watch out for temporary emotional motivation. Be done with empty words. Do away with frivolous things. Be serious about your faith. Get involved in the life of your church and get involved in the life of others. Invest in eternity. Do not be ruled by fear. Our trust must be in God. We must fear God and no one else. So that's my notes from Frank Retief's message. As we learn to cope with the shock and the sense of loss, many testimonies of God's grace and sovereignty began to surface. The attack took place on St. James Day, the day when the church commemorates the first apostle who was martyred. St. James or the Apostle James. The attack took place five minutes after the children had left for a children's service in a separate venue across the road. The attackers apparently wanted to burst through several doors simultaneously, but the other doors were locked on a cold winter night. Excerpts from the unpreached sermon of Reverend Ross Anderson, which he was going to preach at night, were printed in local newspapers, which wouldn't have been done otherwise. One verse stands out in particular from his unpreached sermon. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. One man testified that as he pushed his wife's head down, he felt a bullet whistle over the back of his hand slam into the wall behind. Another husband pushed his wife flat seconds before bullets smashed the backrest against which she had been sitting. One Ukrainian seaman, Demykiv Vladimir, testified of how Marika Ackerman had led him to Christ. I'd been a seaman for 28 years, and never in this time have I met such warm, kind-hearted people as Marita and Darby Ackerman. I met Marita in October last year, my first time in Cape Town. Marita gave me some papers to read about our Lord. Before that, I was an atheist. Marita invited me and my crew to church, and our attitudes changed as we began to read and discuss the Bible. Just three weeks before the massacre, 72 Russian and Ukrainian sailors had made public commitments to Christ at St. James. Marita's favorite verse was Philippians 3 verse 10. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Other members of the church shared these testimonies. Possessions and position are no longer important to us. These things last only for a short time. When we keep our mind at God, God keeps our mind at peace. These are all quotes from people who lived through it. God is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. The verse from Psalm 46 that inspired a mighty fortress is our God. On the Order of Service bulletins handed out at the main funeral service on 29th of July, the passage was quoted, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, nor any powers will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Frontline Fellowship's official letter of sympathy to St. James Church include this following message. Jesus Christ is building his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. You cannot destroy the church by attacking buildings. The church is not buildings, but people. People who love Jesus Christ. People who have a relationship with God as their father. People who have been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. You cannot kill Christians by sending them to heaven. Death for the Christian is not final. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. We rejoice in the assurance that the great work which he has begun at St. James will not falter or be distracted from the Great Commission. That was our letter. How are we to respond? This event should encourage us not to betray the faith for which so many martyrs have died. The only appropriate response to such massacres is for us to be faithful to the Lord Jesus and to his word, the Bible. We dare not allow the fear of man to divert us from fulfilling the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength. and we to love our neighbor as ourself, making disciples, teaching obedience to all things that he has commanded. In any crisis or tragedy, we need to turn to God and cast all of our burdens and frustrations upon him in prayer. We need to seek answers and guidance from studying the word of God. And so praying through the Psalms, learning what security measure we can take to strengthen and protect our family and our church. Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened. And so we need to know how to survive and how to protect. Life is a fight. Do not let it overwhelm you. Adapt and combat every situation that's thrown at you. Schaffenbeck, the one who shot back at St. James, and other people I trust helped contribute to this security and survival handbook. This is what the knights used to make pledges of in the Middle Ages. I will defend the weak. I will defend freedom. I will sacrifice that others may live free. I will defend my family to the death. I love peace, but I'm a fierce enemy. I live by a special code. I live with honor. I was born to be the warrior. Be without fear in the face of your enemies, be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong, that is your oath. They used to swear on their sword, which of course is in the shape of a cross, for the very reason that the purpose of a knight was to protect the defenseless against evil. Such traumatic experiences remind us of the reality of the spiritual war that each of us are engaged in. There is a life and death struggle between the kingdom of God and the force of Satan. And outside of Christ, man is desperately wicked. And we're facing people today who have no problem identifying with the Hammer and Sickle, the Southern Communist Party and others. We've got revolutionaries in our streets for whom the people who attacked St. James are heroes. and who seem to be in love with death and evolution. It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that, the judgment. That's an appointment nobody will miss. Some people may escape justice on earth, but nobody will escape justice in eternity. God is just. He will ultimately reward the faithful, and he will punish the wicked. This is the eternal home for the communists and atheists. We need to live our lives for the glory of God to the fullest. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. You only have one life, it'll soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last. Now at this point, I want to give an opportunity for Scott Vescocky to speak on the police perspective.