This past week, on Ash Wednesday, we were all shocked and saddened to hear of the horrific school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Sadly, this tragedy was just the latest in a series of school shootings we have seen throughout our country.
I’m grateful to Rev. Kathleen, Liz Ryan, Kathy Fazio, and Taylor Kilpatrick, who have done marvelous work this week in reaching out with pastoral care and concern to our children, youth, and families served through our parish, our Day School, and Paul’s Place.
As people of faith, we are not only called to pray in times of tragedy, but we are also called to be doers of good, doing what we can to bring healing and hope as we work toward creating lasting, positive change. As we enter this sacred season of Lent, a time that calls us to repentance and renewal, let’s pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to discern what God is calling us to do as individuals and as a parish community in response to this latest tragedy.
“Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness
to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,…”
(BCP Ash Wednesday Service, page 268)