--- title: "One Year After an Attack on Your Church: Keeping the Day Together, and Romans 15:13 as the Building Goes Back Up" description: "A year-on day is coming for your congregation. Help routes, permission for how to keep it, Romans 15:13 to pray together, and lines for a neighbor." url: "https://biblenudge.com/blog/one-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church" lang: "en" published: "2026-09-28" modified: "2026-09-28" author: "Cal Hewitt" tags: ["anniversary","church","grief","hope","romans 15"] image: "https://biblenudge.com/og/blog-one-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church.jpg" alternates: es: "https://biblenudge.com/es/blog/aniversario-de-un-ataque-a-una-iglesia.md" --- # One Year After an Attack on Your Church: Keeping the Day Together, and Romans 15:13 as the Building Goes Back Up [Cal Hewitt](https://biblenudge.com/about/cal-hewitt)Published September 28, 2026 - anniversary - church - grief - hope - romans 15 ![One Year After an Attack on Your Church: Keeping the Day Together, and Romans 15:13 as the Building Goes Back Up](https://biblenudge.com/blog/one-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church/featured.jpg) If your congregation is keeping a year-on day, in any country, you may have been there, lost someone, missed it, be planning the day, or want to stand beside a church that is keeping one. Grand Blanc, Michigan, is this week's news. On September 28, 2025, a chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there was attacked, and [AP reported on September 29, 2025](https://apnews.com/article/dfe2ce8066e5162c1295e02562aa0e31) that Grand Blanc Township Police stated four people died and eight were wounded. The church's statement that day said, "We pray for peace and healing for all involved" ([church newsroom](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/statement-violence-chapel-grand-blanc-michigan)). On September 28, 2026, [WDIV Local 4 reported](https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/09/28/rising-from-the-ashes-how-grand-blanc-church-members-are-moving-forward-1-year-after-attack-2/) that the church would break ground that day on a new Stake Center at the original site, larger than the previous one, with about 14 months of construction expected. ## If you only have a minute ### Help this week SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline, 1-800-985-5990, United States. ### The day Going, staying home and watching the broadcast are all ways to keep it. ### To pray together [Romans 15:13](https://biblenudge.com/context/romans-15-13), in the plural: "fill us." ### One step Choose one way to keep the day, and tell one person. ## Help you can use this week These are official pages, each with its country. - **United States:** the [SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline](https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline), call or text 1-800-985-5990. - **Michigan:** the [Crime Victim Services Commission](https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/assistance-programs/crime-victim-services). - **United States, for leaders:** the [National Mass Violence Victimization Resource Center](https://nmvvrc.org/media/kscfdcik/tips-for-commemorating-anniversary-of-mvi.pdf) anniversary guidance for faith leaders, and [Office for Victims of Crime](https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/terrorism-mass-violence/publications) anniversary materials. - **Anywhere else:** ask your own country's victim-support service. [Find A Helpline](https://findahelpline.com/) lists services by country. ## The weeks before, and the day itself SAMHSA says some people begin [anticipating a date "weeks, or even months before they occur"](https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/disaster-preparedness/disaster-types/memorial-dates). Its [anniversary trainer's guide](https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dtac/ccptoolkit/anniversary-trainers-guide.pdf) lists the ways people meet the day: "Avoidance, Remembrance, Reflection, Restlessness, Complicated grief, Gallows humor." The [National Child Traumatic Stress Network](https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/tip-sheet/tips_for_families_addressing_anniversaries.pdf) says, "There is no one right reaction." So, all of these count as keeping the day: going, staying home, watching the broadcast, sitting in the car outside, spending it with one person. Nobody has to decide early. If you were not there, a year-on day still belongs to the whole congregation, and standing at the back, bringing food or holding a door counts. ## Romans 15:13, to pray together on the day The passage Bible Nudge offers for hope is [Romans 15:13](https://biblenudge.com/context/romans-15-13), in the World English Bible: > Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes to a congregation he calls "my brothers," and closes a call to accept one another with this prayer that hope, joy and peace would overflow. What it gives a congregation is a prayer said for everyone at once, hope described as something God gives rather than something each person has to produce, and words a pastor can say aloud for the whole room. The King James Version reads, ["Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+15%3A13&version=KJV) Matthew Henry (Nonconformist Protestant) calls God ["the foundation on which our hope is built, and he is the builder that doth himself raise it."](https://bibleportal.com/commentary/section/mhc/verse-13-4879) David Guzik at [Enduring Word](https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/romans-15/) (Evangelical) reads it as a prayer rising from Paul's call to unity. To use it, pray it once, slowly, in the plural: "fill us." Ask: Where do you most need hope to be given rather than generated? For one reader's version, see [hope in hard times](https://biblenudge.com/blog/bible-verses-for-hope-in-hard-times). ![Two coffee cups on a porch step in morning light](https://biblenudge.com/blog/one-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church/two-cups-on-the-step.jpg) ## A building going back up, and what people say about it A Grand Blanc survivor told WDIV, ["This is not a place to fear, this is a place to revere and to reverence... I'm excited to be back here."](https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/09/28/rising-from-the-ashes-how-grand-blanc-church-members-are-moving-forward-1-year-after-attack-2/) A church member said in the church's own release, ["That event does not define us. But how we move forward, how we grow, how we progress, that's what truly defines us."](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/new-grand-blanc-michigan-chapel) A member told WNEM, ["Religion doesn't matter, people matter."](https://www.wnem.com/2026/09/28/grand-blanc-church-marks-one-year-since-deadly-attack-with-acts-service/) Return looks different for each person. [AP reported](https://apnews.com/article/covenant-school-shooting-nashville-anniversary-children-6cc3f2625f415230c7f8dfb6d2529cc2) on March 26, 2024, that The Covenant School in Nashville held a modified chapel service for returning families; a parent called it "an incredible cementing of community." On August 27, 2026, [The Catholic Spirit](https://www.thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/survivors-reflect-on-faith-friendship-and-healing-one-year-later/) quoted a survivor of the Annunciation church attack in Minneapolis: "I've been back twice and I still go every six months, which may be for the rest of my life." Some go back often, some now and then, some choose another place to worship, and each is a way of belonging. ## Rebuilding and remembering, in Scripture In Ezra 3:10-13, when the temple's foundation was laid, many shouted for joy while the old men who had seen the first house "wept with a loud voice," so that "the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping." It gives a day where joy and weeping share the same ground. In Haggai 2:3-9, those who remembered the former house are asked, "How do you see it now?" and then told to "be strong" and "work, for I am with you." It gives those who remember a voice in the building. In Nehemiah 4:6, a community builds a wall, because "the people had a mind to work," and in verse 10 they say, "The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading." The chapter goes on to guards being posted and a call to remember the Lord. It gives company to anyone tired in the middle of the work. ## Keeping the day together 1 Corinthians 12:26 is written to a community described as one body: "When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or when one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." It gives a congregation words for being in it together. In Joshua 4:1-9, twelve stones are set up as a memorial so that "when your children ask in the future" they can be told, an old pattern for marking a day. Ecclesiastes 3:4 gives both on the same day: "a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance." For a pastor, four traditions and how each keeps remembrance in worship: - The Catholic Church offers the Mass for the faithful departed ([Catechism 1371](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3K.HTM)). - The Orthodox Church in America describes [memorial services](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/memorial-services) with communal prayer and the naming of the departed. - The Church of England's [Book of Common Prayer](https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer) carries prayers that name the dead and acknowledge grief. - [Reformed worship](https://www.reformedworship.org) keeps lament as something a congregation does together. ## For the pastor planning the day, and for the neighbor The NMVVRC guidance suggests involving the people directly affected in planning, hosting them as honored guests, offering a private time for those who want one, and preparing them for press interest. Speaking publicly is each person's choice, so ask before naming or quoting anyone. [SAMHSA](https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/disaster-preparedness/at-risk-populations) says adults affected by a disaster may be survivor, responder, caregiver and community member, and that responders are often the last to ask for help. A pastor is allowed to be one of the people the day is for. For a neighbor or another congregation, lines you can borrow: "I'll bring dinner Thursday, no need to come to the door." "Can I sit with you during the service, or outside it?" "I'll be at the back and I'm happy to leave when you do." ![A row of foil-covered dishes on a long folding table in a plain hall kitchen](https://biblenudge.com/blog/one-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church/the-shared-table.jpg) Some lines land badly. [AZRI grief guidance](https://azri.org/grief-counseling/why-grief-can-hit-hard-again-timeline-myths-anniversaries-and-signs-you-may-need-support/) of August 1, 2026, lists "The first year is the only hard year" and "If you're functioning, you must be fine." The Congressional Record's [discussion of responses after the Charleston church attack](https://www.congress.gov/114/crec/2016/06/16/CREC-2016-06-16-pt1-PgS4277.pdf), June 16, 2016, includes "God had a plan." Instead: "I'm thinking of you this week." "I'm not going to ask you to be fine." "I'll be here the day after, too." ## Where to go next If thoughts of ending your life come with the day, please reach a person tonight. - **United States:** call or text 988 for the [988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline](https://988lifeline.org/). Text HOME to 741741, the [Crisis Text Line](https://www.crisistextline.org/). After a disaster, call or text [1-800-985-5990](https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline). - **Canada:** call or text [9-8-8](https://988.ca/). - **United Kingdom and Ireland:** [Samaritans](https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/) is on 116 123. In the United Kingdom, [Cruse Bereavement Support](https://www.cruse.org.uk/get-support/helpline/) is on 0808 808 1677. - **Australia:** [Lifeline](https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/national-services/lifeline-crisis-support) is 13 11 14, or text 0477 13 11 14. [Beyond Blue](https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-support-now) is on 1300 22 4636. - **Anywhere else:** [Find A Helpline](https://findahelpline.com/) lists services by country. Before the day, choose one way to keep it that you could do even on a hard morning, and tell one person. The night before, pray Romans 15:13 once in the plural. If what you are carrying is not quite this, [Bible Nudge](https://biblenudge.com/) can take a line in your own words and return with one passage and what surrounds it. [Find a passage](https://biblenudge.com/nudge). ## Words that come up here Tap a term to see what it means. **Stake Center.** A meetinghouse serving a group of congregations, called a stake, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. **Lament.** A prayer that puts grief into words before God. ## Share this page If somebody you know is carrying this, the link goes straight to the passage and what surrounds it. Nothing here asks them to sign up for anything. [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbiblenudge.com%2Fblog%2Fone-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church)[Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbiblenudge.com%2Fblog%2Fone-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church&media=https%3A%2F%2Fbiblenudge.com%2Fblog%2Fone-year-after-an-attack-on-your-church%2Ffeatured.jpg&description=One%20Year%20After%20an%20Attack%20on%20Your%20Church%3A%20Keeping%20the%20Day%20Together%2C%20and%20Romans%2015%3A13%20as%20the%20Building%20Goes%20Back%20Up) ## Related Articles - [Why Do Christians Get Baptized? What the Bible Says, How Churches Differ, and Romans 15:13 for the Night Before](https://biblenudge.com/blog/why-do-christians-get-baptized): A baptism tomorrow? Romans 15:13 to say tonight, why Christians baptize, how churches differ, and what a guest or nervous candidate can ask. - [After Floodwater Gets Into Your Home: What to Do First, Free Help to Ask For, and Romans 15:13 for the Long Recovery](https://biblenudge.com/blog/after-floodwater-gets-into-your-home): First steps after a flood, free help to ask for, and Romans 15:13 as a prayer for the long recovery. - [Bible Verses for Hope in Hard Times: Hope Received Rather Than Summoned](https://biblenudge.com/blog/bible-verses-for-hope-in-hard-times): Romans 15:13 is a prayer that God would fill people with hope, for days it will not come on request. The verse, where Paul says it, and when to get help.