Church to host prayer vigil for Nova Scotia victims

Advertisement

Advertise with us

A Winnipeg church will transform its online Sunday service into a prayer vigil for the people of Nova Scotia affected by last weekend’s mass murder.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/04/2020 (2336 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg church will transform its online Sunday service into a prayer vigil for the people of Nova Scotia affected by last weekend’s mass murder.

Rev. Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd invites Winnipeggers of all faith traditions to connect to Westworth United Church’s YouTube channel for a 45-minute service commemorating the 22 people killed during a gunman’s rampage.

“It’s a way to release our incredible sorrow we all feel in a way that provides prayerful energy to those in Nova Scotia,” said the minister of the River Heights church.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Rev. Loraine MacKenzie Shepard of Westworth United Church lights candles as part of a vigil for Nova Scotia murder victims in the church in Winnipeg Thursday.
JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rev. Loraine MacKenzie Shepard of Westworth United Church lights candles as part of a vigil for Nova Scotia murder victims in the church in Winnipeg Thursday.

Shepherd plans to name and read a short description about each victim and light a candle in their honour during the pre-recorded service, available Saturday evening.

Piper Robyn McComb will play the hymn Amazing Grace on his bagpipes, and wear a kilt of Manitoba tartan. Shepherd said a church member lent her several metres of Nova Scotia tartan to drape on the table holding the candles.

With viewers from across Canada and several other countries, Shepherd said the online memorial service will provide a way for people to mourn within a community even though they cannot physically gather.

“Had we not been in a COVID-19 (pandemic), I can see us doing a city-wide vigil,” she said.

Shepherd and others in her church have friends and family in Nova Scotia and wanted to show their support to them when they could not be physically present.

Winnipeg-born Joanne Thomas is presumed dead in a house fire connected to the murderous rampage, and victim Lisa McCully had strong connections within the United Church.

“It’s a way of honouring them and a way to let Nova Scotia know they’re not alone,” said Shepherd.

SUBMITTED PHOTO
Piper Robyn McComb will play
SUBMITTED PHOTO Piper Robyn McComb will play "Amazing Grace" for Westworth United Church’s special service for those slain in Nova Scotia.

The service will also feature music by soprano Christina Thanisch-Smith accompanied by pianist Dorcas Windsor.

Churches across Canada are invited to ring their bells at 6 p.m. Atlantic time (4 p.m. in Manitoba) on Friday in memory of the 22 victims, as well as everyone affected by the tragedy.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.

Donate now to support our reporting on religion.

Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt. BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER

Brenda Suderman

Brenda Suderman
Faith reporter

Brenda Suderman has been a columnist in the Saturday paper since 2000, first writing about family entertainment, and about faith and religion since 2006.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

History

Updated on Thursday, April 23, 2020 9:58 PM CDT: Removes youtube channel link

Updated on Friday, April 24, 2020 11:04 AM CDT: Adds photo

Report Error Submit a Tip

The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.

More Stories

Suspension on the horizon for Hellebuyck as pre-season set to start

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Preview

Suspension on the horizon for Hellebuyck as pre-season set to start

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read 6:21 PM CDT

In this high stakes game of chicken, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Connor Hellebuyck or any of the potential suitors for the Winnipeg Jets franchise netminder appear ready to blink.

Read
6:21 PM CDT

Man serving time for 2018 second-degree murder pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2024 prison slaying

Dean Pritchard 3 minute read Preview

Man serving time for 2018 second-degree murder pleads guilty to manslaughter in 2024 prison slaying

Dean Pritchard 3 minute read 4:32 PM CDT

A Manitoba man is now serving his second life sentence in prison after an unexplained technical mistake resulted in a fatal seven-on-one attack on another inmate.

Randal Hastings pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter for his part in the July 2024 killing of 37-year-old Dean Tyler Young at Stony Mountain Institution.

Hastings, 33, was previously convicted of second-degree murder for a 2018 killing in Thompson and, at the time of Young’s death, was serving a life sentence with no chance of parole until 2033. His latest sentence comes with a seven-year period of parole ineligibility.

“It may be a very long time before any parole board is asked to consider whether you can and ought to be safely released into the community,” Court of King’s Bench Justice Sarah Inness told Hastings.

Read
4:32 PM CDT

Transit safety drives first mayoral debate

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read Preview

Transit safety drives first mayoral debate

Morgan Modjeski 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

The safety of Winnipeg Transit drivers was front and centre Monday as the first mayoral debate of the 2026 election focused on public transit.

Kevin Klein, the most experienced of the 10 candidates at the Amalgamated Transit Union 1505-hosted debate, said the time for partial safety shields has passed.

“The partial shields have failed drivers. That’s why we need change,” the former PC MLA and city councillor said, adding driver safety is not a staffing issue, but a “protection failure.”

If elected, Klein said he will bring in full-shield implementation across the city within two years and start a nine-bus pilot project immediately.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

Son found guilty in hatchet slaying of his mother

Tessa Adamski 3 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

A Brandon man has been found guilty of killing his 71-year-old mother with a hatchet in the fall of 2023 after his lawyers argued he should be held not criminally responsible.

Astronaut’s solo photo exhibition is for the birds

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read Preview

Astronaut’s solo photo exhibition is for the birds

Jen Zoratti 6 minute read 6:25 PM CDT

Roberta Bondar’s solo exhibition Patterns and Parallels: The Great Imperative to Survive is on now at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery at Canadian Mennonite University until Oct. 10.

Read
6:25 PM CDT

Seven years sought for serial harasser

Dean Pritchard 5 minute read Preview

Seven years sought for serial harasser

Dean Pritchard 5 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Alexander Beaton finished serving a two-year jail sentence for criminally harassing six women and didn’t last two days in the community before he was back at it, sending unwanted obscene messages and videos to a dozen women.

Now prosecutors are seeking a seven-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old Winnipeg man, whose latest string of victims includes a police officer who investigated his earlier crimes.

“He essentially continued (offending) unabated,” Crown attorney Brett Rach told provincial court Judge Malcolm McDonald at a sentencing hearing Friday. “It caused more than a nuisance to these victims — it caused them to fear for their safety.”

Beaton pleaded guilty to 14 charges of criminal harassment, sending indecent communications and breaching court orders for a campaign of harassment waged between 2015 and 2025.

Read
2:01 AM CDT