Dear Siblings in Christ,
Once again, the scourge of gun violence has shattered lives, torn communities, and fractured a sense of safety and security in a place of learning. Our hearts are heavy, and we collectively mourn with families and friends at Apalachee High School, Winder, GA, experiencing the pain and loss of yet another school shooting. Four families now have the unspeakable task of trying to make sense of preventable tragedy, burying their loved ones, and picking up the pieces of their lives devastated by gun violence.
This should not be! There is a better way!
Our faith in Jesus Christ assures us that violence cannot and will not have the final word. Our faith calls us towards a hoped-for future day where all may dwell in peace and safety as we walk Love’s highway together. Like so many others, I long for that day.
Today, let us mourn with the brokenhearted, pray for the bereaved, and comfort those who mourn. But tomorrow, tomorrow let us be about the business of making no peace with gun violence and creating a world suffused with the peace of God, which passes all understanding. Tomorrow, let us raise our voices and our votes until our elected leaders find the will and the courage to enact common-sense gun laws. Tomorrow, let us persist in declaring that one life lost to gun violence is one life too many.
May Almighty God hold those who have been lost in the everlasting arms, and may we persevere towards the great day of peace.
- Bishop Deon K. Johnson
Prayer
Inspire us, O God, with the gift of shalom, the gift of wholeness and the promise of your presence.
Give us wisdom to seek nonviolence as an answer to the violence of our lives and world.
Give us courage to seek wholeness in a fractured and divided world, to find reconciliation rather than revenge, to abandon the instruments of violence and death and entrust our lives, our homes and our families to you.
May your presence fill us and others with the thirst for unity, wholeness, and the desire to see all people valued as created in your image.
May we and others receive your Shalom that we might be faithful instruments of your love. Amen.
(Adapted from Episcopal Peace Fellowship, "Gift of Shalom")
Contact your state lawmakers.
The Diocese of Missouri now has an easy way for you to communicate with your state lawmakers and live out your baptismal covenant and the mission of our church.
Learn about Voter Voice and message our representatives about proposed gun laws.
Resources
We join in prayer with our siblings in the Diocese of West Missouri in offering these special liturgies and resources:
Liturgy in Response to Mass Shootings