On Sunday, January 11, 2015, All Saints' Church in Millington co-hosted a vigil marking the anniversary of the disappearance of local resident David Bird. Bird, then age 55, did not return from what he reportedly told his wife would be a short walk on January 11, 2014, triggering a massive search and investigation that is still ongoing.
The Daily Record published a photo gallery of the vigil (see Vigil to remember David Bird, Long Hill man missing for a year).
The Star-Ledger also included All Saints' vigil in its reporting on the anniversary (see Wife of missing reporter David Bird says she still relives day he disappeared).
All Saints' has been deeply involved in supporting the community from the very beginning, hosting a candlelight prayer service two days after Bird went missing. (See Community Gathers at Vigil For Missing Man, David Bird, The Alternative Press, January 14, 2014.)
Two weeks later, Episcopal News Service reported, "Residents of Millington, New Jersey, have turned to the local All Saints Episcopal Church as a prayerful gathering place as they await word on the fate of a missing Wall Street Journal reporter who lives with his family near the church.
"Local residents seeking out the comfort of All Saints is an outgrowth of the parish’s sense of call to what its rector describes as 'community hospitality.' The nearly 110-year-old church about 38 miles from Midtown Manhattan follows 'the old village church model' whose sense of caring for a parish extends beyond members of the church to all residents of the area, according to the Rev. Victoria Geer McGrath." (See, Standing in the need of prayer for missing reporter David Bird: Neighbors turn to ‘community hospitality’ parish when friend vanishes, January 24, 2014.)
The anniversary vigil was a combined effort of All Saints', the Boy Scout troop it sponsors and which Bird led, and some of the Bird family's friends and neighbors. Starting at All Saints', the group of approximately 250 people, carrying All Saints’ Christmas and Easter Vigil candles, walked to the Hicks Tract, a 10-acre Green Space with hiking trails. The Scouts set up a bonfire, and several people, including Bird's wife Nancy, addressed the group.
The Rev. Vicki McGrath said afterwards, "It was a moving event. We all shared our support for the family, and our commitment to finding any information that can lead to understanding what happened to David."
