GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. – It was a solemn evening at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.
Approximately 100 people attended the vigil on Monday (Sept. 29), and the prevailing message was one of loving one another and living without fear.
“Times like this, people are looking for something that they can stand on,” said pastor Samuel Hacker.
The vigil was meant as a way for people to come together following Sunday’s horrific attack at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, less than a mile away along McCandless Road.
Hacker’s service at Gloria Dei had just ended when the attack happened on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025.
“I was headed to my other congregation, and that’s when I ran across the police cruiser parked across McCandless Road, which is actually the first cruiser to arrive,” Hacker said. “I think they said just 30 seconds after the call came in.”
During his sermon on Monday evening, he called the attack on the LDS Church “the work of the devil,” and said that hate cannot win.
In the church lobby were more than a dozen therapy dogs to help comfort anyone who needed it.
“These dogs have worked a lot of them were out at the Oxford Schools after the shooting a couple of years ago,” said Emily Carvill, a trainer with Mid-Michigan Therapy Dogs. “The dogs do the work. They know the people that need them and can lend a hug when words fail.”
Rod Davies and his family drove up from Waterford and were at Gloria Dei on Sunday as the attack happened.
Davies, along with his 12-year-old son Jacob, said they were here to pray for the community and stand in their unwavering faith.
“I think when you have times of tragedy like this, that it’s really the love of Jesus that’s going to heal people,” said Rob.
Hacker praised the effort of first responders, saying they were “sent by God.”
He acknowledged that he is looking into adding security measures to the church, but he will not let incidents like what happened on Sunday shake him from his mission.
“We’re coming here; we’re worshiping God,” Hacker said. “We’re hearing from his word, and we don’t really want to live in fear.”