Texas church mourns slain teen
More than 1,000 friends and relatives filled pews, aisles and hallways inside the First Colony church in Sugar Land, Texas, for the funeral of 16-year-old Ashton Glover on July 15. Glover was reported missing July 8 after she failed to come back from a drive with friends.
Her body was discovered two days later after a highly publicized search aided by dozens of church members. Two 18-year-old men — both classmates of Glover’s — have been charged in her slaying after being apprehended by Canadian authorities while trying to cross the border.
The family, including Glover’s mother, Sue Smith, and her sister, Terica, came to the suburban Houston church eight years ago when they moved from the tiny East Texas town of Lufkin.
Fellow church members remembered Glover as a girl who did odd jobs to make money for a church expansion project and worked with a ministry that offered the homeless sandwiches and Scriptures.
Jennifer Cooke, who works with teen-age girls at First Colony, said Glover was “more than an incredible person.”
“She was a beautiful incarnation of Christ to those who were hurting and needed a friend,” Cooke said.
The 90-minute service featured a video of a smiling Glover caring for animals with her Future Farmers of America classmates at Clements High School and posing with members of the First Colony youth group.
Days before, many of the same individuals gathered at the church building for a candlelight vigil after officials confirmed Glover’s body had been found.
“It’s a sad day,” senior minister Ronnie Norman said.
August 1, 2006
Her body was discovered two days later after a highly publicized search aided by dozens of church members. Two 18-year-old men — both classmates of Glover’s — have been charged in her slaying after being apprehended by Canadian authorities while trying to cross the border.
The family, including Glover’s mother, Sue Smith, and her sister, Terica, came to the suburban Houston church eight years ago when they moved from the tiny East Texas town of Lufkin.
Fellow church members remembered Glover as a girl who did odd jobs to make money for a church expansion project and worked with a ministry that offered the homeless sandwiches and Scriptures.
Jennifer Cooke, who works with teen-age girls at First Colony, said Glover was “more than an incredible person.”
“She was a beautiful incarnation of Christ to those who were hurting and needed a friend,” Cooke said.
The 90-minute service featured a video of a smiling Glover caring for animals with her Future Farmers of America classmates at Clements High School and posing with members of the First Colony youth group.
Days before, many of the same individuals gathered at the church building for a candlelight vigil after officials confirmed Glover’s body had been found.
“It’s a sad day,” senior minister Ronnie Norman said.
August 1, 2006
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