MONONA, Wis.– One day after the school shooting, dozens of church members and families gathered at Casa de Fe for a vigil to pray for their community.
“What can we do better? So not another life is taken from us,” said Chief pastor, Pedro Ruiz Jr.
Casa de Fe has a prominent Spanish congregation, but they are open to all. Many of the families who attend the church also have children who attend Abundant Life. That includes the pastor Ruiz.
“You know, in times of crisis and stuff, in times of hurt, this is what the church is supposed to do.” “Help and aid people and pick people up,” said Ruiz.
Ruiz and the church’s leadership team set up the vigil the morning after the shooting. Dozens of people showed up to the service, and Ruiz stood with them as a pastor and parent of three boys.
“Physically, they’re okay but emotionally, you know, there’s a lot of things going on. So two of his classmates, one died and the other one, you know, is in critical condition,” said Ruiz.
All three of Ruiz’s children attend Abundant Life. Two of them were at school during the shooting, and he said his middle child heard the gunshots go off.
“He told me today, he’s like, ‘Papi. When this was happening. I try to be strong.
I didn’t know what was going on,’” Ruiz recalled.
Ruiz explained that his son heard the gunshots but did not see the shooting.
Ruiz is not the only parent who is having these conversations with their children.
“When they (shootings) happen in your life, in your family, it’s hard,” said parent, Isabel Simón Cruz.
Simón Cruz has been going to Casa de Fe for over a decade. She has a son who is a freshman at Abundant Life and says they need the church now more than ever.
“We pray, that’s the only way we have the peace,” said Simón Cruz.
Pastor Ruiz echoes why this space matters in a time of tragedy.
“It has nothing to do with religion.” “It has to do with helping each other and bringing each other up and healing together,” said Ruiz.
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