Photo By LAURA McKENZIE | Herald-Zeitung. Provided by First Baptist Church of New Braunfels
It was an emotional day at First Baptist Church in New Braunfels, with crying, hugging, and remembering the 13 church members who were killed in that horrible crash of a church bus in Uvalde County on Wednesday, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Senior Pastor Brad McLean told the congregation that it is okay to cry at times like this.
"Our pain is real, our loss is real, and our grief is real," he said.
The 13 died when a man slammed head on into the church bus as it was returning from a Baptist Senior Retreat near Leakey. Many people stood in front of the congregation and talked about how fulfilling and how many friendships were made and enhanced by the retreat.
"We had the most wonderful three days, singing, studying His word, and just fellowshipping with our fellow saints here," one man recalled.
As church members broke down in tears while speaking or quietly sobbed in the pews, McLean said it will take more than one Sunday of family fellowship to get over the loss.
"They were people we loved," he said.' "They were people we sat beside and worshipped with. So it will take us time as a church family."
McLean talked about the victims.
"They were not perfect people, but they are forgiven people," he said. "Every person is created to have eternal life. Our family members who lost their physical life last Wednesday, are wonderfully alive in Christ. They will not return here in their physical body. But there is an invitation from Christ to be where they are."
A witness who came upon the crash right after it happened, and who called police to warn that the pickup was swerving in and out of traffic, told News Radio 1200 WOAI on Friday that the 20 year old pickup driver told him that he had been texting behind the wheel at the time of the wreck.