The community of Santa Fe gathered for a vigil to honor the victims of Friday's shooting at Santa Fe High School. A 17-year-old armed with a shotgun and a pistol opened fire, killing 10 people, most of them students, authorities said. (May 18) AP
SANTA FE, Texas — Aaron Chenoweth had a different speech prepared before Sunday night.
He had been chosen to address about 80 of his Santa Fe High School classmates and a congregation full of community members during the annual baccalaureate service for the graduating class of 2018.
But then God stepped in, he said.
“I did a lot of praying before I came, and I’ll be honest with you, all the things I thought about were not the things I said. It was all according to His plan; that’s what I felt tonight,” Chenoweth said. “God changed me into speaking more about His graciousness.”
Even before Friday, when ten people were killed and 13 wounded in a shooting at Santa Fe High School, it already had been quite a year, he said.
“Storms, snows, threats, you name it,” Chenoweth said, referring to the devastation wrought in the area by Hurricane Harvey. “One thing I’ve always found and trusted in is God, and He’s always been there through thick and thin.
"Through my walk in faith and what I’ve seen through my eyes, He promotes healing, love and comfort even in the most dire moments," he said. "(He is a) healing hand.”
The faith community of Santa Fe, about 20 miles west of Galveston, hosts a baccalaureate service every year. The only difference this year is the graduates they were sending off with love and faith to their next venture witnessed what has been referred to as “pure evil” only a few days before.
Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, the scheduled speaker, told the students there would be times likes this.
“You’re entering into a war zone, a spiritual war zone,” Roady told the seniors.
He called on the students to live lives they can be proud of, especially in the wake of the shooting at their high school.
“I know you are suffering in ways that no one else can understand,” Roady said. “As believers we have to have hope because He has to speak to them through you. He uses us to reach others.”
Katie Oldham, 18, was among those in the sea of hunter green graduation caps.
Two days ago, she walked into school thinking it was going to be a normal day.
“I was going to go home later, and it was just going to be normal,” Oldham said. “I ended up running for my life.”
At Friday night’s vigil in Santa Fe, Oldham said she hopes that lawmakers and school leaders listen to the students about needing more protection.
“I’m hoping they’ll implement measures that will protect us during something like this. They let a guy in wearing baggy clothes and carrying in a gun through the back door,” Oldham said. “I don’t find that safe at all.”
What happened in Santa Fe could happen anywhere, she said, and if nothing is changed, it will happen again and again.
“If we don’t make a plan, and don’t put in measures for this, nothing is going to change,” Oldham said. “It’s becoming a trend.”
