Sad, Tired, and Angry: A Prayer in the face of gun violence

Today is the day students nationwide have protested the school shootings in Florida with a school walkout.  Out of respect for them, one of our Nomads provided this message in their morning devotion; a prayer created by James Martin, a Jesuit priest.  It was so well written, we want to share it:

Almighty God,

I come before you, once again, after another shooting.

I am sad, God.

So I ask you:

            To receive into your loving care the souls of those who were killed,

            To care for those who were wounded or hurt in any way,

            To console the family members and friends of those who died or were wounded,

            To strengthen the hands of the rescue workers, medical professionals and caregivers.

 I pray, too, for the shooter, as I must as a Christian.

All this makes me inexpressibly sad, God

But I know the sadness I feel is your sadness. 

It is the same sadness your son expressed when he wept over the death of his friend Lazarus.  I know that the sadness I feel is your sadness.

I am tired, God.

I am tired of the unwillingness to see this as an important issue.

I am tired of those in power who work to prevent any real change.

I am tired of those who say that gun violence can’t be reduced.

All this makes me tired.

But I know that the tiredness I feel is your tiredness.

It’s the same tiredness that Jesus felt after his own struggles against injustice that led him to fall asleep on the boat with his disciples.

I am angry, God.

I’m angry at the seeming powerlessness of our community to prevent this.

I’m angry at the selfish financial interests who block change.

I’m angry that these shootings happen at all.

But I know that this anger is your anger.

It’s the same anger Jesus felt when he overturned the tables in the Temple, angry that anyone would be taken advantage of in any way.

Help me see in these feelings as the way that you move me to act.

Help me see in these emotions your own desire for change.

Help me see in these feelings your moving me to act.

Help me see in these reactions your pushing me to do something.

Because I know this is the way you move people to action.

And I know that you desire action.

For Jesus did not stand by while people were being hurt.

He plunged into their lives.

So, help me to answer these questions:

            How can I help?

            How can I fight against gun violence?

            How can I urge my political leaders to enact change?

            How can I help people understand that this is an issue about life?

I am sad over the loss of life,

tired of excuses for the loss of life,

and angry that we are paralyzed by the loss of life.

So

Turn my sadness into compassion.

Turn my tiredness into advocacy.

Turn my paralysis into the freedom to act.

Help me to be compassionate, to advocate, and to act, as your son did.

Almighty God

We will close with a big Thank You to those students, who are showing their elders what a miserable job we, their parents and grandparents, have done on their behalf.

California Dreaming

Nearly another month has passed already since our last posting.  Time flies, so we must be having fun.  We have heard from a couple of readers this month, so we will keep the postings coming, on an irregular schedule like always.

We are in the Los Angeles suburbs, where we were 2 years ago.  On days with good traffic (seldom) we learned that we are about an hour’s drive from downtown.  On our first weekend here, we went sightseeing and found that estimate was right: about an hour to Griffith Park, but it took 3 hours to get back.

We have just finished a 3-week project at the LaVerne United Methodist Church (which was a location used near the end of the film “The Graduate”, starring Dustin Hoffman).  This is our 3^rd time working at this church.  We always enjoy our time here, which is made better by the fact that they make wonderful lunches for us every work day.  There is a large Filipino presence here and these people cook GREAT meals!  Our Nomads group was made up of 3 couples that had worked together previously and one new couple.  It didn’t take long for everyone to meld together to work hard and laugh much.

Since we’ve been here we have had 2 trips to the emergency room.  Bob has been suffering with some health issues.  What we’ve learned is that health is very tenuous, family is so important for support, and Nomads are a wonderful support for us also.  Our Nomads group stepped up to the plate and helped to move our RV for us, take up some of the responsibilities we had as leaders, and make sure that we had our priorities set on Bob’s issues as well as prayers for us. 

Here are a couple of photos of our work group: first the official group photo when we were cleaned up

       

A big part of our labor was to rebuild an outdoor pergola which has the same shape as the sanctuary roof and the sign above

Last Thursday was International Womens’ Day, so the guys had an audience for our final assembly.  The ladies had a chance to touch up our final paint job right after this photo was taken

 We finished in time for a wedding this weekend, with outdoor photos taken under the pergola.

Our four RVs have been parked nearby at the back lot of David and Margaret Youth and Family Services, also in LaVerne.  Two of the rigs left this weekend, allowing room for two more to join us.  Four couples will be working at the sanctuary and the parsonage of Sam Dimas United Methodist Church in nearby San Dimas, about 1-1/2 miles away.  We don’t often work back-to-back projects, but these two are so close to each other, and have nice people to work for. 

After we finish at San Dimas, we have permission to stay here at David and Margaret’s for another week when Brett’s girls will be coming for Spring Break.  We should have a lot of fun showing them around the touristy places of Los Angeles.  Our niece, Tomie, has arranged a tour of Fox Studios for them.  We are anxious to see them and show them around LA!