From the Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Associate Rector
"Holy God, you have made us members of one body, connected like muscle and bone. If one suffers, we all suffer. We gather tonight in common grief for the tragedy in Orlando, and for the seemingly relentless reality of gun violence. We seek to transform the world by doing what Jesus taught us: welcoming the stranger, loving our enemy, and working for justice. Tonight we pause in our confusion and grief. Through sacrament, song, and friendship, may your Spirit bind our broken hearts, and send us out with renewed dreams of a better day. This we ask in the name of the Holy Trinity, one God. Amen."
-From A Liturgy for the Tragedy in Orlando, St. Mary's Episcopal Church, St. Paul, Minnesota
Friends,
I join you in shock and horror at the shooting that took place in the Orlando nightclub, Pulse, on Sunday morning. Orlando will join San Bernardino, Aurora, Newtown, and too many other cities now most famous for their mass shootings. This act also took place on Pride weekend and in a gay club, a place of sanctuary for the LGBTQ community. Most of the victims were Latino, a population already under attack this election cycle. The shooter identified with ISIS and so we are also worried for our Muslim neighbors who are also under threat in this election year. We are hurting in so many different ways.
St. Mark's, together with many other faith communities, is joining with Dignity Washington to hold a Candlelight Prayer Vigil on Wednesday night (tomorrow) at 8:00 pm in Dupont Circle. You can read more about the event HERE.
The event organizer asked if I would like to speak and I replied that I would prefer not to take the place of an LGBTQ or Latinx speaker. This event affects us all, but we should make sure those most affected have the room to make their voices heard.
Peace,
Justi
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