Streams of Mercy

The gun violence in recent weeks has called us to attention once again, and once again there’s a call for something to be done to stop the senseless killing that takes so many innocent lives. Schools, churches, grocery stores, movie theatres, outdoor concerts, playgrounds, hospitals – there seem to be no guaranteed safe spaces to be found. Just this week it was reported that there are more guns than people in America – a sobering thought.

This paragraph comes from an article by Julia Ledur and Kate Rabinowitz in the Washington Post, published June 2, 2022:

“There have already been more than 240 mass shootings this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Thirty-three have taken place since a rampage at an elementary school in Uvalde, Tex., left 19 children and two teachers dead on May 24. Just this past weekend, mass shootings in multiple cities killed 11 and wounded more than 60. Mass shootings, where four or more people — not including the shooter — are injured or killed, have averaged more than one per day so far this year. Not a single week in 2022 has passed without at least four mass shootings.”

How could this be? Why is it so? What can be done to stop it? All questions needing answers that we must find together.

In the weekly Presbyterian News Release, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) spoke to the issue:

When Will the Bloodshed End?

“There comes a point when there are no words. We have seen the pain and devastation that mass shootings have placed on families, friends and communities. We have heard from those same individuals as they have cried out for action to be taken on gun control. We have heard from our politicians on both sides of the political aisle touting their position on this highly debated issue.

We have also seen that despite all of the cries, nothing changes. We go about our lives and wait for the next mass shooting and then wait for the barrage of arguments for and against measures to keep this from happening again.

While we debate the merits of stronger gun laws, parents, siblings, spouses and children are learning to live a new normal, a normal that means living without a loved one. We offer our thoughts and prayers, attend funerals and go back to our lives. But they must go on with an empty place in their hearts.

When will the bloodshed end? When will it be enough for our society and our government to take the necessary steps to end this senseless violence?

I believe hearts are so hardened that God’s voice is not being heard. I believe our eyes are closed so that God’s healing power is not being seen. But I also believe that God is still here, and it is up to us to hear God’s call.”

Let us pray for an openness to God and to one another, as we seek to find a way forward together.

Elizabeth