Pastor's Corner: Thoughts and prayers

Jesus says, “I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life.”

As I write this, I am still struggling to work through my own grief and anger after three more mass shootings this week in Gilroy, California; El Paso, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio. I have attended that very same festival in Gilroy and I was born in Dayton. It hits close to home, literally.

Even as a pastor, it is my gut instinct to respond to a week like this by turning off the news, changing the station on the radio, throwing aside the newspaper, and staying off social media. I want to disengage; I want to remain ignorant. It is easier to shut it off than let my mind and spirit be flooded by all the overwhelming details of such tragedies.

There has been lots of media attention against “thoughts and prayers” as a response to this national crisis of mass shootings. And I do agree that we also need conversation and action. But lest we forget to remember and pray.

We want to point the finger so that we have something to blame — we blame mental health, the current political climate of hatred and fear, video games, accessibility of guns. In reality, it is all of these factors and more. But when we look for something or someone to blame, we are able to detach. It becomes “their” problem rather than a humanitarian crisis.

We need to hear the stories — the stories of the hopes and dreams of the victims so that we can continue their legacy; the stories of heroes who risked their lives to save family members and strangers alike; the stories of survivors fighting for change. Last weekend, during a national event, hundreds of Presbyterians joined in a ceasefire walk. We want to know how we can make a difference, not just with words, but with our actions and our solidarity.

Pastor Keith Paige of a Presbyterian Church in Baltimore said, “We need to be able to put a face on violence. These are not statistics or figures on a spreadsheet, these are husbands, fathers, and mothers with children. These are people just like all of us, seeking a better life, who were cut down in the prime of theirs.”

Our thoughts and prayers need to be coupled with our confession of how deeply we’ve failed to confront our racism and fear, failed to honor the image of God in every human being, speak out, rise up and change. We have allowed it to be acceptable for people to live in fear of going to a concert or the movie theater, for children in school, for folks attending a bible study at a Church. This is not what Jesus lived for and this is not what we are called to do as Christians.

Regardless of whatever side of the political spectrum on which we fall, our common humanity can help us agree that we need to do better. We need to be part of bringing God’s kingdom alive here on earth. We need to treat each other with kindness and respect — and we need to foster this in our children too. We need to stay in purposeful conversation with each other. We need to call out acts of evil when we see them. We need to show God’s love to everyone. We need to pray without ceasing. And yes, that starts right here in Havre, Montana.

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The Rev. Maggie Lewis

First Presbyterian Church of Havre

Chinook Presbyterian Church