Church Family Shares Faith, Hope On First Sunday Since Pastor's Death

Jacqueline Sit, News 9

EDMOND, Oklahoma -- A longtime Edmond Church pastor was remembered Sunday. It was the first Sunday service since Edmond's First Baptist Church Pastor Alan Day died in a motorcycle accident on Wednesday.

One pastor said Sunday's service was not a place for a funeral but one of hope. The songs during the service celebrated the life of the long time pastor who was dear to so many. Hundreds gathered to remember Pastor Day. His long time friend Dr. Anthony Jordan confessed he struggled with standing before the congregation.

"I thought to myself, 'God I do not have the strength for that. I just don't,'" Jordan said.

It was the first Sunday service at the First Baptist Church of Edmond without their friend, mentor, spiritual leader and senior pastor of 25 years.

"I've preached here other times, but today I'm coming in place of my friend and I loved him, and so I'm grieving as well as the church family," Jordan said.

"It is an especially difficult service for us today, but we're doing what we do every Sunday because that's what Pastor Day would want us to do. We're going to celebrate our life in Christ, which he is ultimately celebrating right now in God's presence," said Keith Haygood, Edmond's First Baptist Church Associate Pastor of Music and Ministry.

As the church and its family of faith grieve, they're focused on moving forward with faith and hope in God.

"We're taking it one step at a time. We know God is faithful. He will see us through this," said John Austin, Edmond's First Baptist Church Chairman of the Deacons.

"We'll love each other through it, and the days will come when God will lead us to our new senior pastor but that's a ways off. We've got a lot of healing and a lot of loving on each other to do first," Haygood said.

Jordan said he knows through his faith that one day they will be reunited again.

"Alan is with Him and that's our hope, so one day we'll go see him. He won't come back to us, but we're gonna go see him. As people of faith, it's who we are," Jordan said.

Pastor Day's funeral Service will be held at Edmond's First Baptist Church on Tuesday at 10 a.m.