Thoughts and Prayers

​My heart goes out to the clergy of Parklawn, Florida. In that traumatized city, pastors, rabbis and priests are burying parishioners who were killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It’s hard to bury someone, let alone a teenager, let alone a person killed violently and suddenly.  I know we at St. Paul’s are holding these victims and their families in our prayers.

How does our faith inform our position about guns in America?  Maybe we are passivists - we'd never own a gun, let alone use one. Maybe we’ve thought about when and why it’s permissible to kill another person and we're comfortable with our position. Or, maybe, the laws of the land are our guide and we haven’t given it that much thought otherwise.  Our faith requires that we think carefully about our position and how it aligns with Christ's teachings.  Here is Shane Claiborn’s reflection on American gun culture. It's a good start.

This Sunday, February 28 at 9:20 AM, let’s gather in the parish hall for a conversation about American gun culture. We’ll look at what Jesus had to say, what the tradition has taught, and we’ll share our own ideas as people of faith.  Join me!