A Message from Rev. Ana in The Aftermath of the Shooting at Umpqua College

Dear Friends,

We join in grief after yet another mass shooting, this time at Umpqua College in Oregon. Innocent people, once again, are dead. Innocent people, once again, are badly hurt. Once again, communal trust is destroyed and lives are altered forever.

I was struck by President Obama’s comments that these shootings have become “routine” and that we have become “numb.” This is so sadly true. The press and the public don’t seem shocked any more. The tired platitudes unwind on autopilot. But as people of faith, we are called to resist this numbness, to continue to open our hearts over and over again to the sadness and the anger. We are called to try to understand why this keeps happening and to discern our role in healing.

Nobody has answers at this point, but tragedies like these force clarity on the questions: Why, after so many gun deaths for decades in this country, and with such clear examples of success with gun control in other countries, are we unable to muster the political will to pass meaningful legislation? Equally importantly, why do these young men feel so angry, so powerless, so isolated, and so starved for recognition that they become killers? What pain drives them to tear the last remaining thread of connection to their human family?

Religious communities like ours have a unique opportunity and responsibility to, in the words of one of our hymns, “bind up the broken.” For those crippled by poverty, abuse, or loneliness, houses of worship may be the only places they can go. For those who feel abandoned and invisible, our ethic of recognizing the divine spark in all may be the best antidote. For those who feel radically isolated, our ethic of communal caring may be the only answer.

We also, as spiritual people, have the power of prayer and the insights of thought to imagine a world that is different than it is today. May we use that power to keep our hearts and our doors wide open and work toward a world where all are loved and where violence and the implements of violence are artifacts of the past.

Many blessings to you all,

Rev. Ana