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Grieving A Violent Weekend: A Message from Bishop-elect Paula Clark and Assisting Bishop Chilton Knudsen

Our hearts are broken by news of the mass shooting this morning at the Highland Park Independence Day Parade. As we write, six people are dead, 24 have been injured, a community has been devastated and the shooter is still at large.

“Thoughts and prayers” have become devalued, thanks to the rhetoric of politicians who utter those words as a substitute for taking action to stop the scourge of gun violence plaguing our country. But as Christians, we know the power of prayer. Our prayers today will strengthen us for advocacy and action in the days to come—action to address the root causes of gun violence and the lax laws of surrounding states that allow guns to flood into our region.

We have been in consultation with the Rev. Bryan Cones, priest-in-charge of Trinity, Highland Park, and tonight at 7 p.m., the congregation will host a time on Zoom to lament and grieve this violence. As we know more, we will share information about how best to support the Trinity congregation and the Highland Park community. In time, we will know if particular communities were targeted by the shooter, and if any of our neighbors have reason to feel especially vulnerable and in particular need of our support.

As we grieve those who have died in Highland Park, let us also remember that gun violence does not only come in the form of mass shootings. As of this morning, nine people have been killed and 57 wounded by gunfire in the city of Chicago over the holiday weekend. But, despite their great numbers, these deaths and the poverty and systemic racism that fuel them are often lost in the conversation about gun violence as our nation lurches from one mass killing to another.

Please, in the hours after this horrifying event, as this violent weekend draws toward an end, keep yourself safe, and, join us in prayer:

O God of mercy and grace, You bring hope in the midst of senseless tragedy and light in the midst of deepest darkness: we confess our need for the Risen Christ as we face into the realities of gun violence in the United States of America. We are mindful especially of the deaths of those who died at this morning’s parade in Highland Park, and all those who were killed this weekend in the City of Chicago.

We grieve with those loved ones who lost their lives in these shootings, and for so many in other shootings across this nation. We lift to Your compassion the injured, and pray for your healing grace.

Deliver this nation, almighty God, from profound anxiety and anger. Help all of us to see Your hand at work in the world about us. We bring before you those who serve in the Senate and the House of Representatives and ask that You guide them with wisdom and fairness in dealing with the meaning of the Second Amendment. Convert our minds and hearts to give all citizens a proper perspective in the use of firearms.

Bless us and sustain us now, and in every time of challenge, through Jesus Christ, the King of Peace. Amen.

(Adapted from A Prayer for the Nation in the Midst of Gun Violence from the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer. )