HOUSTON — George Floyd's final two memorial services will be in Texas where church leaders were stunned about his death and are now making preps for thousands.
Dr. Remus Wright and his co-pastor 1st Lady Mia Wright at The Fountain of Praise Houston, Texas are the spiritual leaders to some of George Floyd relatives. Floyd grew up in Houston.
"We were saddened and we were in complete disbelief," said Dr. Remus Wright.
Pastor Wright and 1st Lady Mia Wright have already started preparing for the final two memorial services for George Floyd. They are co-pastors at The Fountain of Praise, where they've comforting Floyd's family.
"They really have not had a chance to really grieve because this case is so worldwide," said Pastor Wright, " So we are not only concerned about them today but also what will they need next month and the month after that."
"Our hearts desire is to serve her and her family," said co-pastor Mia Wright, "that's where our opportunity to serve the Floyd family began."
The couple leads a congregation of more than 20,000 members, making theirs one of the largest churches in the country. 1st Lady Mia has a heart for volunteerism. She leads the Volunteers Ministries for The Fountain of Praise.
They're expecting thousands of people to file through The Fountain of Praise during the six hour long George Floyd public viewing on Monday June 8th from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The final memorial happens the following day which will be closed to most of the public for safety reasons.
The Fountain of Praise sanctuary seats about three thousand people. So social distancing will be enforced for everyone's safety. The Wright's have already exercised COVID-19 safety measures during the pandemic.
"So it's every other pew. We let family sit together," said Wright, "But then of course everyone else we are separating them."
"I have to be responsible in this area of health because COVID has not gone away," said co-pastor Mia Wright.
Presidential candidate Joe Biden will attend the Tuesday memorial so extra security is also part of the planning right now. Pastor Wright is working closely with law enforcement on all levels. The church will even have metal detectors during the two day celebrations. Large crowds are nothing new to Fountain of Praise. Since George Floyd's death, they have been part of gatherings of up to thousands of people. The church considers it an honor to help Floyd's family as it becomes the world's center of attention for two days.
"We have prepared for that," said Dr. Wright, "We are working with the Houston Police department."
Caring for Floyd's family who attends their church is a priority for the Wrights. Especially knowing his death has sparked a movement in the country they've never seen before.
The pastor and co-pastor say even with a presidential candidate attending Tuesday's memorial they won't take their focus off the Floyd Family, who will remain their priority.