Beloved Trinity family,
This week, our hearts are shattered as we joined our sisters and brothers in Minneapolis in mourning an unspeakable tragedy. It has taken me a couple of days to even get my head wrapped around what happened. 50 (plus) years ago, I grew up in a home about 6 or 8 blocks from Annunciation Catholic Church and School. I had friends who went there.
In this tragedy, two students were killed, and 18 others were wounded, including children as young as six and several elderly parishioners.
It’s hard to even imagine the grief these families face.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
In the face of such darkness, we as people of God continue to gather, anguished yet determined, not just to mourn, but to remember. We mourn because they were children. We remember because they were beloved. We pray because we believe in the God who hears even the broken-hearted.
But mourning and remembering is not enough. Our faith calls us further. In Christ, hope rises even from the ashes of tragedy. Jesus himself wept at the death of a friend, and his tears show us that God mourns with us. Yet the resurrection reminds us that death does not have the final word. Through Christ’s victory over death, love endures. Through Him, light shines even in the valley of shadow. This is the hope we cling to, offering it tenderly to all who grieve today.
And our response as the body of Christ must include action. We join calls for greater school and church safety, mental health support, and measures, such as thoughtful legislation to help prevent future tragedy. It is past time for us as a state and a nation to have serious conversation about these shootings and about the role that guns play in our culture. This is a matter of moral urgency.
Our own Bishop, Regina Hassanally, has written a helpful letter to the churches within our synod which I encourage you to read. You can find it here.
So let us pray, and let us act. Let us hold our children close, advocate for their safety and well-being, and build a community where faith, hope, and love triumph. Let us add our voices to those that call for an end to these horrific events, and for our actions to make real the vision of a world centered in the love of Jesus.
In Christ’s unending love,
Pastor Todd
Test Driving Theology 