A response to the political violence in Minnesota
Dear friends,
The grief that washed over Minnesota yesterday cuts deep into the soul of our community. Yesterday, our state lost a remarkable leader: former House Speaker and current DFL caucus leader Melissa Hortman, along with her husband Mark, who were shot and killed in their Brooklyn Park home. A short while earlier, State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were gravely wounded in a separate, politically motivated shooting in Champlin. My heart aches for these families; two children mourning mother and father, a daughter and spouse forever altered, countless hearts torn by the brutality of this attack, and a state that is shaken and left grieving.
There’s a darkness in our world that can feel overwhelming. Evil masqueraded as righteousness when the perpetrator wore a police disguise, entering homes under false trust. Governor Walz called it an “act of targeted political violence,” and indeed it was; designed to intimidate, to tear at the fabric of our democracy. We are shaken. We are angry. We are hurting.
Yet, as people of faith, we cannot stay here indefinitely. The prophet Isaiah once reminded God’s people: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (Isaiah 43:2). We hold fast to that promise today. In the face of fear and rage, our trust is rooted in one who walks with us through the flood. The darkness may rage, but light is never extinguished, because our God is the light of the world (John 8:12).
Our grief must move us to something deeper: solidarity, prayer, and love. We mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15), we offer whatever comfort we can for Senator Hoffman and his family, and we lift up the memory of Melissa and Mark Hortman in prayer. From pain can emerge purpose. In the ancient words of Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
We are also reminded that evil’s strategy often relies on silence. But the church can be a chorus of hope, a bold testifier that love triumphs over hate. In a world where words are wielded as weapons, we lean into the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, whose very story is our proof that life conquers death, light drives out darkness.
Our mourning should lead us inward to trust, outward into compassion, and upward in worship. Let us honor the Hortmans not just in memory, but in action, by building bridges, embracing courage, defending democracy, and walking with those who are wounded in body, mind, or spirit.
May our tears water seeds of justice, empathy, and peace. And may our faith burn brighter because in Christ we see that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
And may we continue to pray. Pray for comfort for the family, friends and colleagues of Melissa and Mark Hortman. Pray for healing for John and Yvette Hoffman. Pray for safety for our communities. Pray that the assassin is caught quickly, and without further violence, And pray that hope, love and light prevail.
I am praying with you,
Pastor Todd
Photo by: Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune
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