Tragedy at Wilmer Hall

Dear Friends in Christ,

I am writing today with some tragic news about an incident that took place last night at our beloved diocesan ministry, Wilmer Hall. Please see the following letter from our Executive Director, the Rev. Deacon Pratt Paterson.

Dear Friends of Wilmer Hall,

I am writing with very hard news. Last night, a former companion of one of the residents in our transitional family program broke into the cottage where she was staying with her infant child and killed her. Her child is safe and unharmed and is now in the care of Department of Human Resources, and the shooter is now in police custody. Please pray for her and especially for her child, who has lost his mother.

Mobile police officers have assured us that this was a targeted attack and that no one else on our campus or in our neighborhood is in danger. We are cooperating fully with the law enforcement investigation that has resulted in an arrest. We will have a police presence on campus for the foreseeable future.

My heart is broken at the death of our sister in Christ and at this violent assault on our Wilmer Hall community. In the wake of this tragic death, I am even more aware that our ministry with young women and children helps us save lives by promoting self-sufficiency and allowing families to escape the cycle of violence. As we grieve and comfort one another now, may we recommit ourselves to this vital work in the future.

Thank you for your support of our ministry in good times and in bad. We are grateful for your prayers and your support.

In Christ,

The Rev. Deacon Pratt Paterson Executive Director

For more than 150 years, Wilmer Hall has been committed to providing nurturing, holistic, and safe transitional housing and services to vulnerable women, children, and young adults. Accompanying people in their transition from cycles of poverty and violence is vital Gospel work, and I know you share my love and admiration for what Deacon Pratt and the rest of the Wilmer Hall staff do every day.

Even as we grieve this tragedy, we live as people of hope–united by a vision of liberation from cycles of violence where truth and justice prevail.

O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our prayers on behalf of your sister and grant her an entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

+Russell Kendrick