The pastor of the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church where 26 people were killed in a horrific shooting rampage is considering tearing down the building and putting up a memorial in its place.
According to Reuters, the pastor, Frank Pomeroy, whose 14-year-old daughter was killed in the massacre at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, met with Southern Baptist Convention leaders and “expressed his desire to raze the building,” convention spokesperson Roger Oldham told the news wire.
The building, which can hold approximately 75 people, is riddled with bullets. Pomeroy said that using it again could be just too painful, and Oldham said the pastor is considering planting a memorial garden on the site.
The church, however, will continue on, and is already planning a worship service on Sunday behind a community center not far from the church building.
The service will “show the world that we may be knocked down temporarily but WE ARE NOT DEFEATED,” Pomeroy’s wife, Sherri, wrote on Facebook on Thursday. “Please come help us honor their lives doing what they died for: worshipping our sovereign God!”
Read more at Reuters.