From the Vicar...
Another mass shooting...how shall we weep with those who weep?
As the 10:30 liturgy at Christ Church was ending, I learned, along with the rest of you, of the horrific mass shooting that had just occurred in Orlando. A man who described himself in a 911 call as a "terrorist" murdered 49 and injured another 53 people, many of them critically, in a gay nightclub early Sunday morning. He was subsequently himself killed by the SWAT team responding to the tragedy.
In the aftermath, we've seen some of the best aspects of America: people lining up, for example, to give blood for the victims. We've also seen some of the worst - as the aftermath turned into an excuse for social media wars over everything from gun control to presidential politics.
What I wonder is this: does our nation still have the capacity to grieve, together, in moments of national crisis? When we're accustomed to seeing news in real time on our television screens and on our computers and phones, it is sometimes easy to forget that the news we are viewing is real. At least 50 people - created in the image of God - were slaughtered in cold blood. Families who were waiting to see their loved ones are finding out that they will never see them again in this life. That ought to drive us to mourn.
Our nation has shared moments of crisis and tragedy before. Think of Pearl Harbor, when the country rallied around President Roosevelt and toward a common purpose of defeating the forces that perpetrated that carnage. Think of President Kennedy's assassination, when the country - Republicans and Democrats alike - seemed to grieve together. Think of Sept. 11 - at least initially, before the Iraq war confused our response - when the country pulled together, and lamented that loss of life in a moving service at Washington National Cathedral.
It seems now, though, that there's rarely a time of grieving together. The time of lament almost immediately devolves into arguments over what the President should have said or whether this validates or annihilates someone's views on guns or immigration or whatever. Some of that, of course, is just the speed of social media. People are able to discuss, rather publicly, issues much more quickly than they could before. But there seems to be more than that. Our national divisions increasingly make it difficult for us not just to work together, but even to pause and weep together. We become more concerned about protecting ourselves from one another's political pronouncements than we do with mourning with those who have faced unspeakable losses.
How then do we weep with those who weep?
Let's call our congregations to pray this Sunday. Let's realize that, in this case, our gay and lesbian neighbors are likely quite scared. Who wouldn't be? Demonstrate the sacrificial love of Jesus to them. We don't have to agree on the meaning of marriage and sexuality to love one another and to see the murderous sin of terrorism. Let's also pray for our leaders who have challenging decisions to make in the midst of crisis. Let's call for governing authorities to do their primary duty of keeping the people of our nation safe.
As the Body of Christ, we can love and serve and weep and mourn. And we can remind ourselves and our neighbors that this is not the way it is supposed to be. We mourn, but we mourn in the hope of a kingdom where blood is not shed and where terrorists do not win the day.
Fr. Chip
Our Shared Ministry Cycle of Prayer
Each week, in both of our churches, we pray for one ministry we share and one or two households in each church. About once every six weeks, we will instead using the Shared Ministry Collect we prayed throughout the opening months of our Shared Ministry.
In our prayers the next two weeks, we give God thanks for...
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June 19
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Trinity Church Bishop's Committee; Richard McLoughlin & family; Anne Russell; Lois Schmelzer
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June 26
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Christ Church Bishop's Committee; Peter Monte
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Explore your Medicare options
A free public information night at Hobbs House
Mark your calendars for this free workshop to help you understand the basics of Medicare and discover options available to you. The workshop will cover Social Security and Medicare, Medicare Parts A, B and D, supplements, deductibles and coinsurance, how to apply and much more!
Join us on Monday, June 27 at 7 p.m. in Hobbs House's Hall for an informative session about your personal Medicare options with Tom Hutton, a trained representative from the Brownell Insurance Co.
Summer plans
Plans for summer events around the Shared Ministry are starting to come together. For now, we're just listing them...but be watching for details as they emerge.
