MUNCIE — The city’s Union Chapel was packed with local residents, family and friends of Matthew Morey on Friday night, unified in prayer for his safe return home.
Morey, 19, was one of four teenage boys who jumped into the Mississinewa River from the iron bridge along Gregory Road, northwest of Albany on Wednesday, Aug. 12, as The Star Press previously reported.
The others were fairly quickly found by emergency responders and rescued from the water. Efforts to locate Morey, however, have not been successful.
The search for him was suspended about 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, as Delaware County remains in a flood warning with “rising water levels and increasingly dangerous conditions,” said the chief deputy of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department, Jeff Stanley.
The hourlong candlelight vigil began with sentiments from the Rev. Jeff Hughes.
“We are here because Matthew matters to us, and a young life matters. A family matters. A school matters. A community matters,” he said. “And right now, we are carrying something very heavy that is incredibly difficult, that no one should carry alone.”
Piano riffs guided the opening prayer as attendees bowed their heads in unison for the family.
“Lord, even when we don’t know what comes next, we know that you are here and you are with us,” Hughes said. “So draw near to Matthew, draw near to his family, strengthen every person who is searching for him now and in the days to come, Lord. Surround this community with your presence.”
Moments of prayer were separated by the hymn of gospel melodies. Community members leaned into the rhythmic hope that lyrics like “God will work it out” and “His love is like a mighty ocean” provided them in a moment of uncertainty.
Morey’s family did not speak on his behalf at the vigil.
Hughes spoke of a phone conversation he had with Morey’s mother, Angie, that morning. Hughes said he was “overwhelmed” by the amount of hope Angie carries while desperately searching for her son. Angie reminded the pastor her faith in Jesus is solid.
“We all have decisions that we get to make every single day, and for her, the best decision that she could make was to make Jesus Christ her foundation,” Hughes recalled.
Throughout the evening, each prayer from the warmly lit room was lifted for the “miracle” of Matthew’s safety. The teen was supposed to start his collegiate career this weekend as a freshman at West Lafayette’s Purdue University.
But instead of leaving home, a room full of loved ones are asking him to return home.
“Tonight, we have prayed, sung and gathered around (the Morey) family to remind them that they are not walking through this alone, but even after the prayers have been prayed and the songs have been sung, we are still left with something that is incredibly difficult,” Hughes said. “There are still questions that we cannot answer, still things that we do not know.”
Amid all the uncertainty that surrounds Matthew’s whereabouts, Hughes reiterated what his mother said the missing teen would want the crowd to know while bound together in hope of his solace.
“Matthew would want them to hear that there is no other name under heaven by which people will be saved,” Hughes said, reciting Angie’s words verbatim at the podium, “and that is by Jesus and Jesus alone.”
Contact Katherine Hill via email at kthill@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: ‘Matthew matters’: Prayers raised for Muncie teen last seen in river
Reporting by Katherine Hill, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Katherine Hill, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
