Vigil at Newport News church lifts shooter’s family, victims in prayer

Vestere and James Craddock have been active members of a Newport News church for decades.

And when the news hit that the couple’s son killed 12 people and wounded several others in Virginia Beach on Friday, the shocked congregation of First Baptist Church of Denbigh had one answer: Prayer.

About 140 church members came out to First Baptist on Wednesday night for a vigil that included Scripture verses, song and pleas to God for help.

“We have the most powerful force in the universe available to us, and we don’t use it,” the Rev. Eric Sims said. “When the devil blindsides us like he has done, what we need is to get serious about prayer. We need to pray like never before. We need to pray and pray and pray and pray — and pray.”

The congregation prayed for the Virginia Beach victims and their families, first responders and the community. There was a moment of silence, with the names of the 12 victims displayed on large monitors as church members sang a hymn.

And the congregation wrapped their arms around the couple.

The shooter’s biological mother and stepfather did not attend Wednesday’s vigil but were in everyone’s thoughts.

“We are lifting up the Craddock family,” Minister Ryan Perkins said. “Father God, we are asking you to surround them with your love and kindness … We are praying that you would remind them on this evening, Father God, that weeping may endure for a night, but your promise, Father God, is that joy is going to come in the morning.”

Perkins asked the “God of comfort” to be the couple’s “burden bearer.”

“Help them to realize that though it may not seem like it right now, that all things work together for the good of those who love you,” he said. “They need you in a real and tangible way, Father God, and in the name of Jesus, they need you to touch them.”

Church members said the couple — now living in York County after moving from Denbigh in 2005 — attend church services every Sunday, always in the same spot at the worship house off Campbell Road.

Vestere Craddock, 59, is an usher and on the church finance committee, members said. James Craddock, 55, a retired Marine, was the quieter of the two but also friendly, they said. Members couldn’t recall DeWayne Craddock, a 1996 Denbigh High School graduate, attending the church.

Deacon Linwood Wright, First Baptist’s deacon chairman, said he’s spoken with the family a couple times since Friday. “They are in a lot of pain,” he said. “They’ve asked for privacy and said they are praying for the victims and their families.”

“They are quiet and good people,” former church member George Cunningham said after the service. “They are truly humble, that’s for sure. There are people that are boastful — and want everybody to see them — and that’s not them.”

“Everyone is devastated,” his wife, Denise Cunningham, added. When she heard the news Friday, she said, “I was praying for all the families involved, including the gunman’s family, and I didn’t realize that I knew them until later.”

First Baptist’s historian, Evelyn Banks, 78, said she knows Vestere Craddock and that she’s a “wonderful, wonderful, wonderful person.”

“We want to give her a lot of space, but we also want to let her know that we love her and that everything is going to be OK,” Banks said. “We support her — and we support the victims.”