Piloting Faith: One more mass shooting breaks our hearts...
A Word for the Day...
This weekend we learned of the tragic shooting in New Zealand. One more mass shooting. One more white nationalist influenced by hate ideology who takes out his anger in the cruelest way. One more time we gather as a global community to mourn and mobilize. I do wonder if this time, things might change...at least in New Zealand. Perhaps they can model for the rest of us the way forward from such tragedy.
Traveling as often as I do I frequently find myself in hotel bars eating dinner late at night after conferences or events. This past week, I sat in a small bar in Norwich, Connecticut, listening to two white men tell each other about the guns they each had in their homes. They talked about the kinds of guns they loved, the ones they traded in, the design defects in a few. One guy owned 32 guns; the other owned twenty-seven.
When they tired of talking about guns, they moved on to immigration. One of the men went on a loud, proud rant that would have made FOX News applaud. He thinks we should keep America safe from these criminals who flood across our border and kill women and children. The second man sat quietly. As it turns out, his wife is an immigrant. #awkward
What amazed me about that conversation was that never did they consider that far more people die from angry white men who assemble arsenals and commit mass shootings than immigrants coming across our borders. Facts simply don’t matter. Hate, fear and rumors certainly do.
As people of faith, we need to pay particular attention when fear and hate are used as a justification for acts of exclusion, oppression or violence. Fear is a handy tool to maintain control, but it flies in the face of the Gospel. We are responsible to speak up when we see that message being abused.
- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight
Prayer for the Week
Rev. Dr. Eric Elnes is the pastor of Countryside Community Church in Omaha, NE. He has just started a new online meditation that we can all access through Facebook Live and YouTube. Each morning and evening he guides us through the meditation using four bows, signalled by a bell, that we hold in our minds for 5 minutes each. Let's all try this together this week.
Four Bows Meditation
Get in a comfortable position.
Take a deep breath in...let it out slowly.
First Bow: Review the last 24 hours and give thanks (5 minutes).
Second Bow: Surround a person you care about who is struggling with loving intention (5 minutes).
Third Bow: What do you need help with most today? Be specific (5 minutes).
Fourth Bow: Let go of all agendas, opening wide to your Source, and pay close attention to intuitions...(5 minutes)
As you emerge from the experience, take a moment to write down any insights that came to you or any lessons learned. Or simply enjoy the stillness you feel when you give yourself the space to slow down.
Peace be with you, friend.
