It is easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of a horrible event like that of Newtown, Connecticut. We know and we are grateful for the first responders in many forms that have converged in Newtown to help the community. They will need skillful assistance in the next year and more even as we, from a longer distance, ponder this horror and wonder what can be done in response. In a less obvious way, we too are affected by that tragedy and need to think about how we can respond in a helpful way.
Back in 1992, in a different context, we were experiencing some violence and tragedy in our community in Winston-Salem. I have written about what happened and continues to happen twenty years later in my book, Let’s Have Lunch: Conversation, Race, and Community. One of the lessons that I gained from that experience and from reflecting on it through the writing of the book is that as Christians we are not helpless in response to tragedy. We don’t even need to know what to do before we begin. And, there are things that any of us can do that make a difference.
In 1992, three pastors had lunch to discuss what could be done. The first thing we did was to get together to discuss what could be done. The second thing we did was probe the resources we had available to us to make a response. In our case, we were Christian pastors in the community, so we drew on the resources that that made available. We were a community bonded by our shared faith, had available to us Scripture, prayer, worship, and a tradition for community involvement. We decided to begin there and as I now reflect back on it, the results were far beyond our expectations and a reminder that God can work in ways beyond one’s imagination.
Perhaps it can be so with you as well. May God bless your efforts.
