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Louisville-- A voice was heard in Ramah wailing
and loud lamentations. Rachel weeping for her children, she refused to be
consoled because they are no more.
Once again we face the horrors of mass gun violence in the United States
as, just this morning, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in
Newtown, Connecticut and opened fire. Reports are that 27 people have been
killed, among them 20 children. It was only three days ago that a gunman
fired into crowds of unsuspecting Christmas shoppers in the crowded
Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Oregon, killing two and wounding one.
Today is a day of wailing and lamentation in our land. From coast to coast,
Presbyterians weep with parents and grandparents, siblings and relatives,
teachers and school workers, friends and neighbors. We cry out with mall
workers and shoppers, security guards and crossing guards. There is no consolation
for this tragic loss of life. There are no words.
But in the days to come we must speak and act, as Presbyterians are called
to do. We must engage in a conversation in this nation about this
unbearably ongoing and despairingly repeatable tragedy. Too many innocent
lives are being lost. Too many Rachel’s are weeping for loved ones gunned
down in senseless and increasingly commonplace acts of violence in places
like schools and malls. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in both its
policies and actions, is committed to addressing the plague of gun
violence. Aware of the faith dimensions of this on-going tragedy and
informed by our historic commitment to peace and non-violence,
Presbyterians must do our part to responsibly end gun violence.
A letter from Gradye Parsons and Linda Valentine, with the following
resources:
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