Our young people need us
April
17, 2007
Message from Jim Antal, Minister & President,
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation
and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she
refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are
no more.
Jeremiah 31:15
Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Even as we proclaim “Christ is alive!” we stop dead in our
tracks to contemplate the horror and mourn the loss of 32
people lying dead at Virginia Tech.
America awoke this morning with broken hearts and shaken
confidence. As the air waves were flooded with bits and pieces
of this story, any who listened to their heart could hear
the desperate cries and see the terrified faces of the innocents
who were felled. Their lifeless bodies lay alongside those
of Cassie, Steven, Corey, Kelly, Matthew, Daniel, who were
among the Columbine students gunned down eight years ago this
Friday, as well as the other innocents from a long list of
schools which have suffered such tragedies.
Before the killer pulled the trigger, God’s heart was already
breaking. God knows the stress, the pain, the trouble and
the anger so many of us carry in our souls. And as the morning
unfolded, people the world over by the millions joined God,
overcome by an immeasurable sorrow.
Although there was no direct connection, I phoned my two
sons yesterday just to hear their voices. We want safety and
security. We especially want our children to be safe and to
live in a world which offers security. But God does not promise
this. Nor can we guarantee it.
But we can listen to the voices of our precious children
and youth. They need us now – especially with the air waves
saturated by this story. Our congregations also need your
prayerful, honest help as they seek to maintain their faith
in the face of such senseless killing.
And clergy need one another. As we offer our community the
support it needs, we must also ask for and offer support to
each other.
Events like this make many feel isolated. But we can use
this as an opportunity to connect – with children, with youth,
with those in your congregation who may be particularly sensitive,
with colleagues, and with God. There is room in God’s heart
for every person. And the safety and security and peace we
desire can only be found there.
Jim
The Rev. Dr. Jim Antal ,
Conference Minister and President
Massachusetts Conference, United Church of Christ
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