Dear Glen Mar friends

I am feeling heartbroken and sick today following the mass shooting at the elementary school yesterday. I am thinking about Jeremiah 31:15, “Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children…”.  I know you join me in deep and fervent prayer for the families of those who died so tragically in a place that is supposed to be a sanctuary. I cannot imagine the depth of pain being felt by those whose lives have been so radically devastated by this violence.

The United Methodist Church calls our churches to address gun violence through prayer, conversation, support for those affected by gun violence, teaching gun safety, working with law enforcement to help prevent gun violence, and advocating for laws that prevent or reduce gun violence. See  https://www.umc.org.

If you are looking for ways to take action to address gun violence in this way, you can find some groups at work on this issue, including Everytown for Gun Safety (everytown.org), and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. (Momsdemandaction.org).

There are other ways we need to do better, including caring for and intervening for health and wellness in the lives of those who come to act out in this way and “overcoming evil with good” (Rom. 12:21) in strengthening our communities and neighborhoods. We are called to pray, and we are also called to act, to be “repairers of the breach and restorers of streets to live in” (Isaiah 58:12).

I hope you will join me in wearing orange on June 5, as a way to remember the victims and honor the survivors of gun violence, including those who perished in Texas.

If you or your youth or children, or teachers in your life,  would like to talk to a pastor, or if you would like referrals to a counselor or other resource, let any of the pastors know, and we will be glad to serve you.

See you in Church,
Pastor Mandy