Chaplain and lay minister Jim Lynn got a terrible shock when he went for his routine visit to the Dettah cemetery on Monday.
August 24th will be the third anniversary of when his son Mark went missing near the Yellowknives Dene Community on the eastern shore across from Yellowknife.
“People have a hard time sometimes dealing with death. In my books it’s one of the most beautiful things there is, due to my Christian faith and belief in Jesus. Aboriginal people probably have the deepest spirituality, and deepest awareness of life afterwards living with the spirit,” Lynn told CKLB Tuesday morning.
The news of his son’s grave site being vandalized struck home for Lynn, who had recently shared the story of his son’s death and disappearance at a healing circle at the YKDFN Wiiliideh River Site over the weekend.
“Sometime’s we get selfish, we just think of poor old me, instead of the gift of life and appreciating that we had those people in our life,” added Lynn.
He shared photos of the vandalism on his personal Facebook page with a message, “FATHER Forgive Them, just came from Mark’s resting place but no rest. If you have something against any of his family PLEASE don’t take it out on Mark’s gravesite. Blessings to all Shalom.”
Lynn says he has reported the vandalism to the RCMP, and is disappointed there had been no response as of Tuesday. Lynn is urging people not to touch the torn up flowers and upset flower pots and chairs at the grave site until the police investigate.