By now, already, you have probably moved on to your daily routine, after shaking your head sadly, and maybe saying a prayer for victims' families. Or you might have spent part of the day watching as news updates confirmed that 12 people, 13 if you count the shooter, were killed in a two-hour shooting spree on a military base just three miles from the White House.

        If you watched longer, and tuned in to the right talking heads, you heard some details about the shooter, but not any answers to the "why?" that always baffles those surrounding such a tragedy. And you may have heard that the U.S. is the only country that has such mass shootings as frequently as we do, and the frequency is increasing at an alarming rate.

        But the voice that most likely stands out is that of a weary Chief Medical Officer at Washington's premier trauma center, Medstar Washington Medical Center. "There's something evil in our society that we as Americans have to work to try and eradicate," she said. "I'd like you to put my trauma center out of business. I'd like to not be an expert on gunshot wounds."

        Dr. Janis Orlowski pleaded with the whole country: "Let's get rid of this."

        Her words are a call to action for all of us in this country.

        And yet, even the most passionate of us may have spoken out in the past, signed petitions, written our congressmen, and nothing seems to make a difference. The next major question after "why?" these things happen, is "what can, and should, we do about them?"

        The reason we can't get anything done about this, or about any major problem facing our country right now, is that we have lost respect for those who think differently than we do. We can no longer have a civil conversation with those who are "on the other side." We have become so polarized as a country, with attack ads and over-simplistic political strategies, that we have lost common sense, and the wisdom that is necessary to say let's not cut the baby in half so everyone gets his share. We have lost the ability to love our opponents.

        Which makes it all about God, when it comes down to it, if we believe that God is love, and love is God. We could get all moralistic and say that the problems in our country can be blamed on the fact that people no longer attend church, people have lost their ethical bearings. But if we are honest, we have to ask how often the church has weighed in over the last few decades over major ethical issues, so that we are providing such bearings. The church is almost as polarized as the country. And the way we deal with it is by not talking about anything that is remotely political

        What we need, I believe, is to start with really listening to each other. Those of us who would like a little more regulation on guns need to hear what gun rights activists believe is the solution. And those of us who go immediately to the fear of a national registry of all guns need to calm ourselves, and suggest other alternatives to keep emotionally unstable people, people with criminal backgrounds, from getting their hands on guns. And the fear that no one is talking about together, that we must have guns because our government cannot be contained and trusted, has got to be brought to the forefront, examined and discussed.

        But mine is only one voice, and we need every thoughtful, caring voice. I welcome your thoughts.  

                                                                         -   Madre Liz

The Rt. Rev. R. William Franklin, Bishop of Western New York

 The Rev. Elizabeth Simmons, Interim Rector 

 The Rev. Cathleen Smith, Deacon 

   Miguel Covarrubias, Youth Minister

 Kim Johnstone Mann, Secretary/Administrator  

Barbara Bumsted, Director of Adult Formation

Andrew Schmidt, Organist & Choirmaster 

Paul Johnson and Linda Dawson, Wardens.

Office: 410 North Main St., Jamestown NY 14701 

http://www.stlukesjamestown.org