“Like Principal [Matt] DeBoer says, ‘You can’t go over it. You can’t go under it. We’ve got to go through it as a community.’”
That idea — that healing has to be walked through collectively — surfaced again and again during a weekend of events.
The parish used the occasion to introduce “Annunciation heroes,” replacing its usual volunteer awards with a tribute to teachers, parish staff, first responders, doctors, counselors and neighbors who carried the community through its darkest hour. A plaque unveiled Sunday will hang inside the church, ensuring the shooting is remembered not only for its loss but also for the courage it summoned.
“I have a different perspective on first responders,” said Jimmy Dunn, Annunciation’s outreach director. “Our first responders were inside the church.”
Dunn admitted he was among those who first doubted SeptemberFest would happen.
“I thought for sure we were not going to have it,” he said. “It took five days until someone was like, you know, we might need this.”
Source link
