West Emory Presbyterian Church Established 1823 Westland Drive at Emory Church Road Knoxville, TN 37922 (865)690-5333

July 28, 2008

From the Pastor’s Pen
By Miki Vanderbilt

When the unthinkable happens…
As I am writing this message Monday afternoon, our community is still reeling from the news that a gunman interrupted yesterday’s Sunday service of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church here in Knoxville killing two persons and injuring seven others. The fact that the children were presenting a program for the congregation at the time makes this horrific act even more unthinkable and tragic.

Violent events such as this touch us all in one way or another. I, like many of you, received frantic calls from family members and friends across the nation fearing for our safety as soon as the news broke that there had been a shooting in a west Knoxville church. In the emerging details of the shooting, all sorts of images and questions come to mind. A heroic pillar of the church uses his own body to shield others from the blast of a shotgun and in this selfless act sacrifices his own life. Parents desperately seek to protect their children running for safety to Second Presbyterian Church next door. Blood splatters the sanctuary and children experience what no one should ever have to experience in their lifetime. In the blink of an eye lives are lost; parishioners and visitors are critically injured; individuals, congregations and our community are plunged into shock and grief.

Why? How could this happen? What explanation can there be for the unleashing of such rage against a people of faith who sought to reach out to others of all persuasions, all circumstances, all beliefs? It seems almost incomprehensible that it is this very inclusiveness and openness that triggered this violent attack.

Being the church is risky business especially if you dare to swim against the riptide of public opinion and personal animosity. Jesus experienced this as did his disciples. Down through the ages believers have been persecuted and killed for their beliefs. Hate breeds violence and violence often leads to death. We have seen it too many times—a bomb kills four little girls in Sunday School at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963; five girls are murdered in their Amish classroom in 2006; a deeply trouble student goes on a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech in 2007 and 33 die; and the list goes on and on.

Senseless, unprovoked, unimaginable. Surely God must be weeping once more over the loss of lives, the loss of innocence, the loss of a sense of safety and sanctuary, the loss for hope that turns one man’s anger into hatred and hatred into a horrible act of violence. Let us pray for this congregation and for all those who have been personally and profoundly impacted by this tragedy. As the Body of Christ, let us continue to be about the risky business of loving one another as God loves us. Let us reach out to all those who need to experience the grace and love and mercy that our Lord and Savior has taught us to share in his holy name.

Peace and Blessings,
Miki