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Dear Ones,
Something horrible happened this morning: a gunman opened fire on children in morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis. Two children were killed and 17 others were injured. It is the stuff of nightmares and it happened for real, in real life, right here in our community. We are in shock. We are in grief. We are in rage. We are in numbness. We will be searching for answers—but the truth is there are no answers right now. No answers for why this happened or how to make sure it never ever happens again.
Right now, our job, as the poet Andrea Gibson wrote, is to “let your heart break so that your spirit doesn’t.” Right now, our job is to cry and rage and grieve.
Our job is to comfort our children and hold them close, and to remember, as Rev. Danny Givens noteably said, that “there are no other peoples’ children.”
Our job right now is to make our Sunday prayers real. To show up for our community and ourselves and each other, showing through our actions that you are not alone, we are holding it together.
Our job right now is to bring as much love as we can to ourselves, each other, and our larger community, to do our best to make every suffering bearable—even this unbearable one—with our presence, our compassion, and our commitment.
Please join me tonight if you are able for a community vigil organized by Moms Demand Action and Protect MN at 8 p.m. at Lynnhurst Park, 1345 W. Minnehaha Parkway. If you can arrive earlier, our faith partners at Shir Tikvah Synagoge will hold a time for singing and connection, beginning at 7 p.m.
Join together in community again on Sunday, August 31, at 10 a.m. at the Lake Harriet Bandshell for our annual outdoor worship and potluck picnic. See details about this Sunday here. We need each other now more than ever.
Reach out to your church friends and staff and ministers, take those three intentional breaths, and “let your heart break so your spirit doesn’t.” We we will find our way through even this, together.
With love and care for each and every one of you, and for all of our children.
Rev. Jen
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