Students, faculty, staff and friends of Sarah Brady gathered Monday, Aug. 29, at Stauffer Chapel at 8:30 a.m. for a special prayer service in honor of the Seaver student’s tragic passing Friday evening.
Twenty-year-old Brady was en route to Pepperdine from her hometown of Littleton, Colo., on Friday, Aug. 26, when an unfortunate car crash claimed her life. Read the full story.
Chaplain Dave Lemley opened the service by asking the congregation to hold Sarah’s family in their prayers. Lemley said the accident is an opportunity to begin the year by putting trust in God. According to the chaplain’s opening words, Brady had just completed summer classes at Pepperdine, looked forward to the fall semester and was at peace with life before the accident, which he believes comforts those disturbed by the news of her passing.
After Lemley’s opening remarks, Campus Minister Linda Truschke, Brady’s Great Books Colloquium professor Ronald Cox and senior Jordan Kahler, who would have been Brady’s resident advisor at the Drescher dorms each read comforting Bible passages. After each passage, Lemley allowed a moment of prayer.
“Not having known Sarah, we all still grieve knowing that someone who could have been such a light for us in this community was taken away so suddenly,” Kahler said. “Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers are with her family and friends.”
Truschke encourages students to seek out each other and others who can provide comfort at this time, and remember that God will not abandon them.
“Words fall short sometimes of what people need,” Truschke said.