Holy Ground

Friends -

Some of you may have heard in the news about the shooting in Moscow, ID that involved a Presbyterian Church two weeks ago. A gunman shot and killed his wife at home, shot at the police station and killed a police man, and then entered the church and killed the caretaker there and shot himself in the sanctuary. Needless to say it was a huge tragedy and shock in the small college town. That was my home church and the church that supported me on my seminary journey. I found out the morning of the shooting (Sunday) as I was preparing for worship in Wilbur which was quite a difficult time for me.

Well, last Sunday the congregation re-entered their worship space for the first time. One of my parishoners covered for me in Wilbur so that Lars and I could attend. It was very moving for me to share in the service with my church family and it meant a lot to them that Lars and I came. There was a lot of hope in the service as we sang songs and prayed litanies for healing. Halfway through the service they brought in the communion elements and water for the baptismal font. As the pastor poured the water into the font and we sang "Holy Ground" I choked back tears.

It was amazing to see the way the church as a whole reached out to this community in need. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance had been in to help work on the church so there was no sign of the violence that took place there. They had also visited with church members and community neighbors to talk about emotions surrounding the tragedy. There were cards and emails from all over the country expressing support for the congregation and their healing process.

My biggest realization from the experiance was that God never left the space. That while we were re-claiming, re-dedicating the space for worship, the truth was that it never stopped being a worship space. That even though tragedy and evil entered in - God was still present and the holiness of the space was still intact. It was a moving lesson on the presence of God in our lives in times of pain as well as in times of joy.

For those of you who may have seen the news and remembered it was my church thank you for your prayers. It was the prayers of people around the country that have helped this congregation to survive and will continue to help it thrive. Thanks be to God!