Congregation Pays Tribute To Woman Gunned Down Outside Church
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - One week ago a gunman opened fire outside an Aurora church killing a woman. Josephine Echols was shot dead in the church parking lot last Sunday.
The shooting happened outside the Destiny Christian Center on East Bethany Drive. Echols was the mother of the pastor and a registered nurse.
Police say Kiarron Parker drove into the lot, crashed his car and then fired at people who tried to help him.
The Now Faith Christian Church helped the Destiny Christian Center congregation pay tribute to the woman known as "Momma Jo" on Sunday. It was the first time the congregation came together since the shooting.
Pastor DeLano Straham said his mother was someone who was always positive and encouraged people to move forward.
"We understand that no matter what we go through God is always with us and we do live this thing called life," Straham said. "Everything is not going to be easy, everything is not going to be simple."
The Destiny Christian Center congregation was welcomed to the Now Faith Christian Church with open arms and may stay there while they decide if they will continue to use the building where Echols was shot.
"(She) just was a continual giver and the way she was taken out of this earth is the way I think she would have wanted to go; going to help someone," Straham said. "She laid her life down for it and was taken to the hospital where she spent nine years working at."
The service was not filled with eulogy, but rather song encouraging memories and hope.
"We didn't want it to be somber, we didn't want it to be sad," Straham said. "We wanted to celebrate her life of someone who really laid their life down for a lot of people," Straham said. "That was a cause of celebration and I think that's how she would have it."
The Now Faith Christian Church not only opened its doors to the congregation, but also picked up much of the cost for the viewing, which is scheduled for Monday evening.
