Reflecting on Violence: A Message from the Rocky Mountain Synod
Although this message comes from the Rocky Mountain Synod, its words speak to all of us.
In response to recent acts of violence—including shootings at Evergreen High School in Colorado and Utah Valley University—Bishop Meghan Johnston Aelabouni offers a heartfelt message of lament, solidarity, and hope. The message includes reflections from local pastors and worship resources to help congregations respond with compassion and prayer.
While these events did not occur in our own synod, we share in the grief and the call to faithful action. We encourage you to read and reflect on this message, and consider how it might guide your own response to violence in our communities and nation.
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“God, our healer and our refuge, we pray for all who suffer from gun violence. With your mercy, bind up their wounds, restore their bodies, and heal their hearts. Comfort the mourners and embrace the lonely. With your might, empower us to change this broken world. Make us advocates for a stable society, alive with hope in you. We ask this through the one once wounded for our transgressions and now standing with us in our sorrows, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.”