Dear Friends in Christ,
We are anguished over the news of multiple lives lost in Uvalde yesterday – most of them precious children. The people of Uvalde are our neighbors, our friends. There are members of our congregation from Uvalde, who have family in Uvalde. I have extended family members in Uvalde as well. This tragedy hits close to home and breaks our hearts. The loss is unimaginable.
We are on our knees in prayer for the families of the victims, first responders, and the greater community of Uvalde. In the midst of such unspeakable pain and suffering, we take comfort in the words of the Apostle Paul, who wrote that nothing, in this world or the next, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38).
As we pray, and as we wait to hear how we might reach out to our neighbors to assist them during this tragic time, I also urge each one of us to search our hearts and ask how we might respond to the rising tide of murderous violence in our society. As followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace, we have the sacred responsibility to help build Christ’s peaceable Kingdom here on earth.
Lord, have mercy; hear our prayers.
In Christ,
Rev. Holly H. Gotelli
Senior Pastor
