How we can be safe

This one is for the papers

The fatal school shooting last week in Cazenovia, Wisconsin is now added to similar tragedies in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Canada. Such incidents bring an outpouring of prayer and compassion not only to the victims, their families, loved ones and communities, but also to the troubled individuals who committed these crimes.

And it leaves us with questions. If these random acts of violence, unbridled anger and revenge are happening in our schools, is any place safe? Are we are doing all we can to protect our youth from such dangerous, random acts? Are we actively supporting all our young people, including those kids who feel so outcast, so isolated that they are motivated to commit these horrors?

Our bureaucracies and institutions are addressing this. And, as individuals who love our communities, we can do our part. We can monitor our own thoughts –how we relate to others, what we watch, how we play, how we work, how we react – to be sure we are contributing to an atmosphere of peace. Do we express love and kindness toward one another? Do we look out for one another? Peace is not dependent on location but on thought, and thought aligned with the presence of God, Love, can only express that which is loving and good.

A peaceful thought is open to mercy. In following the teachings of Christ Jesus, members of the Amish community are showing that forgiveness leads to healing, even in the face of overwhelming tragedy. As we read in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” A dictionary defines forgiveness as “sending away and rejecting the offense; that is, not imputing it to the offender.”

Prayer gives us the understanding of God’s ever-presence, bringing safety to our schools and compassionate support to those who are hurting. Prayer can provide a balm that heals grief of the families and loved ones of those killed and can even help the victimizers repent and reform.

Prayer enables us to see the power of right thinking and right acting and eliminates the fear that would say we can expect more of the same. It can make us more alert to the welfare of others and create stronger bonds of community. Alertness to the welfare of others thwarted the efforts of two teens who had extensive plans to bomb and terrorize a school in Green bay. An individual came forward to warn school officials. The vigilance of this person saved lives.

We can be spiritually alert. For example after one similar tragedy, some church members took it upon themselves to pray every time they passed a school. They acknowledged and affirmed that the school, its students and staff were protected, progressing and thriving. They replaced the drive-by shootings with drive-by prayers.

Everyone’s prayers are needed as we encourage our schools to maintain their rightful role as places of learning, growing and even healing. Our youth must feel safe, secure and most importantly, loved.






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