Sunday’s service wasn’t intended to be a memorial, lay leaders said. “We want it to be a service where we can lean into the Holy Spirit of God and be renewed so that we can then breathe in, breathe out, repeat, and put one foot in front of the other and move forward,” a leader told congregants.
According to a bio on the New Hope website, Pastor Mark McDaniel had a 37-year career in the Air Force, where he was a commissioned officer and then a chaplain. He also taught junior high and high school and was a professor at Arlington Baptist University. McDaniel married Brandi in 1997, and in 2006 they adopted daughters Hannah and Grace.
A celebration of life for the mother and daughter is planned for Feb. 17.
