Prayers pour out for pastor as police search for shooter
<p>Sue Hervey, a close friend of the Remington family, holds her hand out during a prayer Monday as hundreds attend a vigil at Candlelight Christian Fellowship for pastor Tim Remington, who was shot on Sunday afternoon in Coeur d’Alene.</p>
<p>Pastor Paul Van Noy, of Candlelight Christian Fellowship, addresses more than 700 in attendance of a vigil in support of Tim Remington.</p>
<p>During the vigil, pastor John Padula, in red, hugs Rick Remington, whose brother was shot six times.</p>
<p>Alexa Leingang, 3, watches as Denise Markley, the children’s ministry administrator for Candlelight Christian Fellowship, helps older brother Jayden, 6, to signs a poster board for pastor Remington.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE — Pastor Tim Remington's brother, Rick, approached the microphone in the crowded Candlelight Christian Fellowship church Monday evening and gave the community an update on his brother's condition.
"He will survive," he said. "He’ll come out of it and God will be glorified."
Rick said the family talked to Tim's doctors before the prayer vigil that evening.
"He has limited feeling in his right hand, which is better than what they thought before. We know how he likes to play the piano but he’ll get back to it," Rick said. "He’s a little scared. That’s to be expected. He has a bullet through the pelvis. He has two fractures in his skull. He has a shoulder that was annihilated and he’s in a lot of pain. That’s the first word he spoke tonight, was, 'pain.'"
The Altar Church's pastor Tim was shot several times in the parking lot of his church Sunday afternoon. The suspect, 30-year-old Kyle Andrew Odom, who is still at large, managed to somehow miss all of Tim's vital organs.
"His condition right now is nothing short of a miracle," Rick said.
Despite the attack that rocked the community, Rick said his brother would call for forgiveness.
"I think the first thing my brother would say if he was here is, 'You need to have a heart of forgiveness,' which is hard for me and I’m sure hard for others," he said. "But because that's what he would do, that's what we should do."
More than 700 people attended the vigil, filling every seat in the house and many standing or leaning against walls. More than 100 people were present long before the program started; in the lobby, constant streams of tears, embraces and loving greetings flowed as people consoled each other and prayed for the pastor's recovery.
"We come together at a time like this and we have a lot of mixed emotions, a lot of feelings," said Candlelight senior pastor Paul Van Noy. "We have sorrow and we have reason to rejoice. Pastor Tim is going to be fine."
Vigil attendees cheered.
"What Satan means for evil, God uses for good," he said.
Speakers included pastors, probation and parole officers and others throughout the community who have worked and built friendships with the pastor. The evening was emceed by The Altar's outreach pastor, John Padula, who is very close to Tim.
"This is an amazing event, even though it took pastor Tim having to suffer for it," Padula said. "This is something that's going to bring God glory, across not Kootenai County, not North Idaho, not the Northwest region, but across the United States of America and across the world."
Tomi Maynard of Coeur d'Alene has been attending The Altar for more than three years. She and her husband work for pastor Tim's Good Samaritan Rehabilitation program by running a men's intensive outpatient house. She said her first reaction to the shooting was "sheer terror." She said she and about 200 others were at Kootenai Health Sunday evening to show their love and support for pastor Tim.
"The amount of love that has been pouring in from across the country is amazing," Maynard said. "It's been incredible, absolutely phenomenal."
She said more than anything, her church community wants what is best for Odom.
"I've been really impressed, nobody has really tried to speculate or point the finger," she said. "We truly want nothing but for him to come to know Jesus and be saved.
"It doesn't matter what his motives were, it was all Satan. Satan has warped his mind and twisted everything to try to take out a mighty man of God," she continued. "God didn't allow it and he's using it to further the kingdom."
The attack has made international headlines. Pastor Tim provided the invocation and prayers during presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz's rally at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds just a day before the shooting.
Sen. Cruz's campaign released a statement on Monday, which can be found on state campaign director Norm Semanko’s Facebook page.
"Our prayers are with Pastor Tim, his family, and the doctors who are supervising his care," campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told NBC News. "We pray for his full recovery and are thankful for the efforts of law enforcement to ensure the attacker is swiftly brought to justice."