Cassie Griffin and Shawn Brown were two of the seven people killed by a gunman at Wedgwood Baptist Church on September 15, 1999. The following e-mail message from Betty Wilson contains Donna Haygood Sarchet’s account remembering Cassie Griffin and Ryan McDaniel’s account remembering Shawn Brown.

___ Letter from Betty Wilson ___

I share this so that you may pray. Donna Haygood Sarchet is a precious friend.

Ryan--

Danny Murphree forwarded your message regarding Shawn Brown to everyone here at Wayland [Baptist University]. Thank you for sharing Shawn's message--and for helping put yet another "face" to the names we hear associated with this tragedy.

I wanted to share with you another person's story--a 14-year-old girl who died there at Wedgwood Baptist Church also. Her name was Cassie (Cassandra) Griffin.

First of all, Cassie came from a strong Christian heritage. I first became acquainted with her parents in 1983 when I came to Wayland to teach. Tralissa, her mother, graduated from WBU in 1986 and her father David graduated in 1984. Although Tralissa was a math major, she was one of my outstanding accounting students. Tralissa's great-great-grandfather was Dr. Wayland, founder of our university. Tralissa's great-grandmother, Mabel (Wayland) Adams (dau. of Dr. Wayland), died last spring at the age of 109. She was a wonderful Christian woman, feisty to the end, who also happened to be Baylor's oldest living graduate up until her death. (Wayland was originally a junior college.)

I remember when Cassie was born; her parents were still students here. They were so very proud of her. Three years later her brother Chris was born. David and Tralissa Griffin chose to remain in Plainview and invest their lives here. David, who is also a grief counselor, was the director of Children's Protective Services. Tralissa worked on her doctorate in math at Texas Tech and eventually came to teach math at Plainview High School, in addition to being an adjunct math professor here at Wayland.

As students, they were members of First Baptist. However, as young married adults they joined College Heights Baptist Church. There, David was ordained as a deacon and Cassie was later baptized. To say that the Griffins were an integral part of that church--and the Plainview community--would be putting it mildly. Also, in addition to school and church activities, the Griffins were involved in the Little Dribblers basketball program (our city league). It was there that Cassie and my daughter Rebekah played basketball together.

Two years ago--right after Cassie finished 6th grade at Ash School (where my husband Kerry was her P.E. teacher)--the Griffins moved to Ft. Worth. They viewed this as a chance to advance professionally and to give their children some additional opportunities. David went to work for the state as a counselor in the prison system. Tralissa taught high school math--in the same school that Cassie attended this year as a freshman.

David and Tralissa made consistent, prayerful efforts to do the right things. They invested their lives God and their family. They were involved in their children's activities and made sure their kids were active in the church youth group. David has said that Cassie absolutely blossomed spiritually and socially when they moved to Ft. Worth. The shy, really tall girl began to meet all kinds of new friends at church and school. She would tell her unchurched friends about Christ. In fact, she brought a number of her friends (7, I believe) with her to the youth rally that fateful evening.

One thing that has struck me, in addition to the horror of losing a child, is how our world as Chrisitians has changed. When I was growing up in the late 60s and the 1970s, the end times and books such as "666" were big discussion topics. As young people, we sometimes were asked (and asked ourselves) if we would be willing to suffer physically--or even face death--if confronted with renouncing our faith--or to even admit being a Christian (Foxe's Book of Martyrs comes to mind).

Honestly, the only way we could picture this (keep in mind the Cold War was going on) was if the Soviet Union or some other "enemy country" were to invade the U.S. and prohibit the demonstration or admission of Christianity. My friends and I would never have dreamed of there being any physical risk to merely attending a church activity in our present free society.

Cassie was at a youth rally--at a church--in a good neighborhood. My daughter was also at a similar rally held here in Plainview at Harral Auditorium. They, like many other young people that evening, were doing what they were supposed to do--and wanted to do. They were demonstrating their commitment to Christ.

At Cassie's funeral, a military person handed her parents a folded flag. Brother Don Robertson, pastor of College Heights and who helped officiate the funeral, observed how fitting that act was--that Cassie, as a Christian soldier, had died for the cause.

I grieve with David and Tralissa over the lost of this precious child. I hope many of us will remember to pray for them not just now when pain is the freshest, but also in the days ahead--as they face returning to a "normal" life and the coming holidays and birthdays--and the "every" days.

I rejoice with the Griffins, however, in the fact that Cassie's message is getting out. They purposely opened her funeral to the media for that reason. Cassie's life had a purpose (something we first mentioned to her parents when she was born)--and her commitment to Christ is being shared. Her parents, after all they've been through, have still firmly said "Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

I think of them and pray for them--now and in the days ahead--just as I will pray for your friend's family, as well as the others who have had life-altering changes as a result of this event. I also hug my children a little tighter.

Donna Sarchet

Dear Friends,

I wanted to e-mail you and let you know the pain and joy I have experienced these past few days. As many of you already know Shawn Brown was killed at Wedgewood Baptist Church on Wednesday the fifteenth of September here in Fort Worth.

Shawn was my teamate and roomate in the spring of my freshman year at Howard Payne University. At his funeral Saturday God was given all the glory as Shawn was allowed to be taken home early. Everyone knew of his love for the Lord. Shawn graduated from Howard Payne in 1997 as a Religious Education major studying to become a youth minister. He was presently studying at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

While he was going to school he was working at New Horizons for Danny Corbeille where he cared for senior adults who could not care for themselves. He touched many of their lives as well as the family that employed him. Danny helped Shawn in many different ways, but it was Shawn who wanted to give Danny one thing and that was to share with his friend the love of Jesus and to see his friend accept Christ as his savior. I want to encourage you to pray for the salvation of Danny Corbeille. I am taking Danny's little boy Christopher to a Texas Rangers game this weekend. Please ask God to give me the strength and opportunity to share my faith with Danny, but pray even more so that the holy spirit with prepare Danny to be ready to accept the Lord. Shawn's wife Kathy Jo works at Meadow Creek elementary where she is a teacher. Shawn shared her passion for children while teaching sixth grade Sunday school with his wife. They impacted and will continue to impact the lives of children in our community for some time to come.

If you did not get to see any of Shawn's funeral on television let me tell you a little about Kathy Jo. She is so strong in the Lord. She weeps but not without hope. She knows that she will see Shawn again in heaven one day because she too knows the Lord personally. They had a marriage based on God. They were best friends, teamates, and passionate about seeing others come to accept Christ into their lives. If you have seen the photo in the newspapers of Shawn's casket being carried out on our shoulders it was because we felt like he was a hero in the eyes not only of his friends and peers but in the eyes of Christ.

If there is one thing Shawn could leave with you it would be to make it known how to accept Jesus as your personal savior. If you are already a Christian it is his family and friends wish that you share your faith with those who do not have God in their heart. Again, I emphasize that it was Shawn's passion in life to share Christ with anyone who did not know his Lord personally. Let me ask you, if you were to die tonight and God was to ask you, why should I let you into my heaven what would be your reply? The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." If our good works are just the result of a relationship with God and not what actually saves us then how do we get to heaven? The bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 "For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Now we know that in order to obtain salvation that it can only come through Jesus who lived a perfect life without sin and then died on a cross for the sins of mankind. If you want to accept Jesus into your heart then all that you have to do is tell Jesus you are a sinner and ask him to come into you life and forgive you of your sins so that you may spend eternal life with him. If you have any questions about this please e-mail me at [email protected] and I will help you understand who Jesus is and what he has planned for your life. If you are already a Christian then please pass this note to a friend who may not know Jesus in a personal way. Do not be afraid to send it out. The words have already been written you just need to have the courage to be bold for Christ and forward this opportunity for someone else to have the chance of spending eternity with God.

Sincerely,

Ryan McDaniel

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