Church shooting hits home

Sisters who died in Colorado shooting lived and attended church in Whitefish

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

The two teenage sisters shot to death at a church in Colorado on Sunday once lived in a home on Green Place in Whitefish and attended church here.

Stephanie Works, 18, and her sister Rachel, 16, were killed Monday when Matthew Murray, 24, opened fire at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Their father, David Works, 51, was shot in the abdomen and groin and was hospitalized in serious condition. Their mother, Marie, and sisters Laurie and Gracie were not victims of the shooting.

While investigations continue, it appears that Murray, of Englewood, Colo., had once been associated with both New Life Church and the Youth With A Mission training school in Arvada, Colo.

Murray reportedly had been thrown out of the school and had been sending hate mail. According to reports, Murray was home-schooled in a deeply religious household.

It's believed Murray was also responsible for the shooting in Arvada 12 hours earlier. Shell casings found at the missionary school, about 65 miles away, matched those found at the church. The missionary school maintained an office at the church, which has about 10,000 members.

New Life Church officials had called in extra security volunteers after the Arvada shooting, and it's believed Murray took his life after a security guard shot him.

Two people were killed and two injured at the Youth With A Mission school. The organization started in 1960 and operates out of 1,100 locations, including a training center in Lakeside. One of the people killed in the first shooting, Philip Crouse, 24, had worked on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.

Stephanie and Rachel Works had traveled to China with Youth With A Mission last year. Laurie is Stephanie's twin sister.

According to reports, Murray showed up at the Youth With A Mission school shortly after midnight and asked if he could spend the night. He apparently opened up fire with a handgun after he was turned down.

He showed up about 12 hours later at the New Life Church wearing a trench coat and carrying a high-powered rifle and opened fire in the parking lot. After he was killed, Murray was found with a rifle and two handguns, according to police reports.

Two others were wounded in the shooting at the New Life Church — Judy Purcell, 40, and Larry Bourbonnais, 59.

The shooting at New Life Church hit home for the Brittsan family, of Whitefish.

"This is a real tragedy — I can't stop thinking about it, this precious family," said Pastor Brad Brittsan.

Brad has been the pastor of Headwaters Church on U.S. Highway 93 south of Whitefish since 1986. He said the Works family returned to the Flathead about once a year for conferences held at Headwaters Church after they moved to Colorado.

"David and I have been close friends," Brad said. "When he went into surgery after the shooting, he asked the New Life pastor to call us so we could pray for him."

Brad said it had always been David's dream to return to Montana.

"He was a really great guy. He cared about Montana, about the Lord and networking with other people," Brad said.

The Works attended First Presbyterian Church, in Whitefish, from August through December 1995. About that time, the pastor left and the family decided to change churches. They moved to Colorado later.

The Works family lived in Denver, where David worked with computers, but they felt strong enough about belonging to the New Life Church, they were willing to drive an hour and a half to Colorado Springs to attend, Brad's wife Marie said.

Shooters like Murray "are trying to stop people from congregating," Marie said.

"This incident provides another reason for people to get together and know their neighbors," she said. "Moms and dads are working, they do things in the evening, people are involved with computers and TV — the fabric of community dissolves."

Marie noted that this is a hard time of the year for something like this to happen.

"We absolutely need community," she said. "There will be a tremendous community effort developing around the Works family now," Marie said.

"Incidents like this have long-reaching effects," Brad said. "People can be captured by fear. Things like this can keep us from living in the freedom we have."

Brad said the memorial service for David's two teenage daughters will be postponed to next week so he can attend. He is still receiving care in the hospital.

Donations to a memorial fund for the Works family can be made through the New Life Church's Web site www.newlifechurch.org or by calling 719-594-6602.