A Few More Connecticut Responses to the Shootings in Newtown

1) The first is an article at Huffington Post by the Bishop of Connecticut about his thoughts. It is worth reading and pondering.

One part I wrestle with:

My response to the young mother's question was that there was no way we could make sense of what had happened. No explanation or rationale could assuage our shock, pain and grief. As a religious leader, I knew that my job was not to try and make sense of what had happened. Rather my job was to be there, simply be there, with those who had lost loved ones in the terrible rampage.

I definitely appreciate what he is trying to do here. There is no answer that will satisfy the why question or that is healing in an easy sense. It is not a rational thing. And the point about being a loving presence to people is so crucial as well. But I also think that 'making sense' of it is a human need. I am guessing that the young mother needs meaning as well; for me I need to ask if good can come from evil even like this. I try putting it into perspective: the perspective of the cross, of the kingdom of God, of the new creation. I try to find where the redemption starts.

2) Another letter from the Bishops

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:   We write to update you briefly as to our common life in the wake of the shooting in Newtown last week and to share an idea/save the date with all of you.   Tomorrow, Thursday, December 20, at 11:00 a.m., young Ben Wheeler, a parishioner at Trinity, Newtown, who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School, will be buried from Trinity Church, Newtown. Your bishops will attend the service remembering Ben and commending him to God. Please take a moment tomorrow at 11:00 to say a prayer for Ben, his family, and all who loved Ben at Trinity, Newtown, especially the Rev. Kathie Adams-Shepherd, Rector.   Emails, letters, and calls continue to come in from around the United States and the world. Sisters and brothers in Christ in The Episcopal Church, across the Anglican Communion and ecumenically, are holding us in their prayers with special intention for the people and leaders of Trinity, Newtown, and St. John's, Sandy Hook. Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, has written a note expressing his care and empathy for all of us indicating that he and the community at Lambeth Palace are praying for our local clergy at this time. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori has also been in touch with your bishops expressing her prayers and concern as we begin to imagine how The Episcopal Church might respond in the wake of the tragedy.

We give thanks to all of you who have called and emailed us at Diocesan House offering to be of help in any way you can. At this point in time, we are still focusing on the immediate pastoral care of all those who were directly affected by the shooting. At the same time, we continue to collect resources that might be helpful at this time and post them on our diocesan website at: https://www.ctepiscopal.org/ . In the near future we will have additional information about how our diocese as a whole can best respond to the tragedy, including a possible endowment fund at Trinity, Newtown.   As the three of us prayed together today, we felt compelled to call the Diocese of Connecticut to a time of discernment and action on how all of us can best work to overcome the death-dealing culture of violence that seems to be so prevalent in our society at this time. We believe that this culture of violence has many different expressions including, but not limited to, legal access to assault weapons, lack of appropriate care for those who suffer from mental illness, and all too often under-recognized killing of young people in our cities streets.   At this point, your bishops are planning to dedicate the upcoming season of Lent as a time for all of us to study, pray about, and take action to overcome such a culture of violence. This Lenten program of study and action will commence with a morning gathering for clergy for reflection and prayer here in our diocese on Thursday, February 14th, the day after Ash Wednesday. Then on Holy Tuesday, March 26, 2013, your bishops will lead another outdoor, public Stations of the Cross (like we did last year in Hartford) to witness to the need to overcome the culture of violence in our country. This year we will take the Stations of the Cross to our nation's capital and make a witness with all who want to stand with us and say "the killing in our country must end." More details will follow in the new year about this witness in Washington and how we all can best participate. At this time we wanted you to save the date March 26, 2013.

This has been a very emotional week and we give thanks for all of you who have been so pastorally present to your flock, opened the doors of your churches for prayer, participated in ecumenical/interfaith vigils, and reached out to the people of Newtown/Sandy Hook. Staying connected to one another and reaching out to others with this love and care has been life-giving.   In closing, we wish you and yours all the blessings of this last week of Advent. We pray that the Christ Child who will be born and dwell among us this Christmas will be for us and for the whole world "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."   Yours faithfully, Ian, Laura and Jim The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry