This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 9, 2009 - In the hushed lobby of the First Baptist Church of Maryville on Monday, it seemed as if the whole world was calling and emailing to offer prayers and a kind word to a stunned congregation who had watched their beloved senior pastor gunned down during Sunday morning services.
"The outpouring is tremendous. God is alive and well,” said Marcia Dempsey, with a quiet smile.
Dempsey, a church member who had volunteered to answer the phone, said the condolence calls had been coming in all day from across the United States and overseas, including Germany, England, Hungary and Spain.
On the day after Pastor Fred Winters was killed by Terry Sedlacek, a 27-year-old Troy man, the church's 1,200 members were struggling with their loss and turning to one another for comfort and support. Along with a large banner strung across the lobby that proclaims "There is Joy in the Presence of the Lord" was an additional sign:
Prayer and Grief Counseling
Room 244
Rich Cochran, children's minister at First Baptist, offered a quiet reflection on Winters, 45, who became senior pastor in 1987 when there were just 32 members. Winters guided the church during two decades of growth that included its move into a sprawling brick complex on Illinois 162.
"Pastor Fred Winters 22 years ago invested his life in this community with the vision of seeing people come to know Jesus as their Lord and savior,” Cochran said, his eyes moist with tears.
Winters was "just a man of God,” Cochran added. "He loved preaching the word of God, and that's the way he passed. Doing what he loved to do.”
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Visitation for the Rev. Fred Winters will be held at the church, at 7110 State Route 162 in Maryville, from 2-8 p.m. Thursday, March 12. The funeral services will be at the church at 10:30 a.m. Friday. The graveside service is for family only.
Gifts may be made to
* The Winters Family Memorial Fund
Scott Credit Union
1100 Beltline Road
Collinsville, IL 62234
Winters, who was married and the father of two daughters, died of a single gunshot to the heart, according to the Madison County coroner.
Sedlacek was charged Monday with two counts each of first-degree murder and aggravated battery. After interrupting the 8:30 a.m. church service Sunday, Sedlacek fired his pistol four times until it jammed. He then stabbed himself and two members of the congregation: Terry Bullard and Keith Melton, who tried to stop him. Sedlacek and Bullard remain hospitalized; Melton was treated and released.
Ron Slemer, Sedlacek's attorney, told the Belleville News-Democrat that his client suffered from Lyme disease that caused him to have bouts of erratic behavior.
Down to earth
Linda Wells, 50, of Edwardsville, who has been a member of the congregation for 15 years, arrived at the church for 9:30 services Sunday, and found it surrounded by emergency lights -- police cars and ambulances -- and a large circle of people praying outside.
"It was a nightmare,” she said.
Wells said her family had visited churches of various denominations in the area before finding a home at First Baptist.
"Fred [Winters] was so down to earth,” she said. "He didn't preach at you, he preached with you. He was one of us. He wasn't above us. He was one of us.”
Wells said the church, which had been so small it once met in a small building behind nearby Anderson Hospital, grew along with the populations of surrounding communities. Members come from all walks of life, from all over the metro-east, and the church has already outgrown its building.
"My Sunday school class meets in the kitchen right now,” Wells said.
She said Winters - and the church - are like family.
"He was such a gifted preacher and very passionate about what he did. He always preached to examine your life. Are you living it right? Are you living it for God? He's going to be missed so bad,” Wells said, her voice breaking with tears.
Wells said she is still grappling with her pastor's death.
"I still can't believe it,” she said. "It's like when [Pastor] Fred's picture is on the news. He was such a happy little guy. He walked on his tiptoes, be-bopped in there. Shook everyone's hand. Oh, my gosh, he was just contagious. I'm so proud to be a part of that church. He has touched my whole family.”
A welcoming place
In Marion, Ark., Olivia Behrens, 30, said she is struggling not to be angry at the man who shot Winters. Her family joined First Baptist when she was 8, and she attended until she went to college. Behrens said members of her family, who still belong to the church, called her with the news.
"I know what I'm supposed to feel, but it's so hard,” Behrens said.
Winters was with her family in both happy and sad times, she said. Her 83-year-old grandmother attended weekly pizza dinners hosted by the pastor.
Behrens said her family joined when the congregation was small and watched it grow.
"It's a very welcoming place - very inviting. Fred pushed community involvement,” she said.
Wells said she has found comfort in talking to fellow church members since the shooting, and she attended a standing-room-only memorial service held Sunday night at a neighboring church. No one she has talked to knew Sedlacek - or had a clue as to why he would shoot their minister.
"We will do what Fred wants us to do, and he would want us to pray for that killer,” Wells said. "Fred wants every soul to be saved, and that's what God wants. That's what Jesus wants. He wants every soul to be saved.”
Wells said it was a blessing that Sedlacek's gun jammed.
"That gun that malfunctioned saved the guys who took him down and who knows how many other people,” she said, adding, "If someone were killed, he [Winters] would have wanted it to be him.”
Wells and Behrens said that Winters is irreplaceable, but their church will survive.
"I think it will grow even more. I think people will see the love everybody has there, and what Pastor Fred started, and we're not going to let that die. We'll protect that with all we've got. I think it will thrive and everybody will want to be part of it,” Wells said. "We won't let the devil win on this - no way.”
