St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, holds prayer service after North Forsyth High School stabbing

Dozens gathered at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem on Wednesday for a day of prayer for the families, students, school staff and first responders in Forsyth County.

During the service, Reverend Dixon Kinser encouraged those present to bring everything they were feeling about the stabbing at North Forsyth High School, whether anger, hurt or confusion, and to give that pain to God, a practice of comfort in grief (Psalm 34:18). The church holds a Holy Eucharist prayer service every weekday, but Wednesday’s gathering had a particular purpose.

“Because of the tragedy over at North Forsyth, we’re going to kind of orient the Eucharist to be more of a prayer for peace, prayers for our city,” Kinser said.

Kinser said the church has a 150-year history of supporting the community during times of tragedy. He said the parish had already identified a way to respond quickly to situations like this one by inviting people to come and pray together.

He pointed to an earlier moment when the community gathered after a shooting at Mount Tabor. “After the shooting at Mount Tabor, and, gathered the community together on an evening, and said, come and pray the litany with us,” Kinser said. “And that’s kind of what we do. When we need it, we have those words, and they guide us.”

Kinser said many people in the congregation are also affected by the loss as the community mourns. “We have personal connections at North Forsyth, so I think those people feel especially rattled,” he said shortly before the service.

Laura Pallavicini, the church’s Director of Outreach, also attended. She is a North Forsyth High School alumna. “I graduated in the 90s from North Forsyth and had a fantastic experience there and have continued to stay a part of that community,” Pallavicini said.

“My hope is that people will see that. Many, many people care about what’s going on in this community and that we would like to see some changes,” she said.

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