Prayers for the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School

Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:29 pm

I just now saw the horrendous news of a huge mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. My brain cannot even process such a horrendous tragedy. My heart goes out to all of the victims and their families.

(Please remember that this is not the place to discuss gun control or other political issues.)

Post by **Lalaith** » Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:18 pm

I came out The Hobbit to this news.

It's unbelievable. Just horrific.

I am praying for those families. Why would he kill all of those precious children?

Post by **Teremia** » Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:26 pm

It is so horrible that it just takes your breath away. Those families!

Post by **JewelSong** » Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:56 pm

Apparently his mother worked at the school...she is one of the ones he shot dead. She was a kindergarten teacher.

Horrible senseless tragedy. Prayers to all the families.

Fri Dec 14, 2012 10:13 pm

Jewel, I had not heard that. My God, the whole thing is just so incomprehensible.

Post by **axordil** » Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:45 pm

Yeah, my son's holiday concert after the movie had a very strange vibe starting out. It got better as the kids sang, though.

I did notice a police car parked out front when we came out, but it was dismissal time, so I think that's normal (traffic control).

Post by **ArathornJax** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 6:19 am

I read this in class today and my eyes swelled with tears. I am teaching 10 year olds this year and suddenly I looked at them and my heart melted. Children are incredible and are to be nourished, treasured and loved and kept safe. I have always felt there are two places that should be safe for a child; home and school. Unfortunately not every child is safe at home but we try to make sure they are safe at school. Today that innocence was shattered and destroyed. I find my joy at seeing The Hobbit diminished by this and have no heart to see it right now. I truly hope that in the depth of this tragedy, that though no comfort can fill the hole in the hearts of the surviving loved ones, that perhaps, just perhaps we can finally move to a more compassionate, a more caring and a more loving society where these things just don't happen. Where we truly value family, friends, loved ones and good food, good drink and good company over other more base pursuits. Today made me reflect on why I love working with children and today broke my heart. It made me commit to being more caring, more understanding, more loving with my family, my friends, my students and people in general. It is the only gift I can offer at this time in remembrance of those who were killed and for the survivors who now have to cope with their memories.

Post by **Pearly Di** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:31 am

So many of the victims were aged between 5-10 years old.

. This is ghastly, just unbelievably horrific and dreadful. Impossible to take in.

I was in the US when the terrible news about the Dunblane massacre broke. Those children were about the same age, too.

My prayers are with the families of those who were so brutally murdered - the children and the teachers who tried to protect them.

Post by **WampusCat** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:40 am

I pray, too, for those who do not have the luxury to look away: the police, the medical examiners, the journalists.

I'm off work tonight. The person who did my job was afraid he wouldn't make it through the night without breaking down. He has a young daughter who is the center of his universe. Reading and editing all the stories on the shooting was terrible for him.

Post by **Pearly Di** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:55 am

.

I can't imagine.

Post by **Elentári** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:35 am

Just so awful... my heart goes out to all involved.

Post by **JewelSong** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 3:37 pm

I also am thinking of the older brother...he lost both his mother and his brother in a horrific way. And he has been undergoing questioning by police....he must be in shock.

I cannot even begin to imagine...

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 4:47 pm

Not only that, but many news outlets were reporting him as the shooter for quite a while early in the day.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Dec 15, 2012 5:16 pm

My son posted this as his Facebook status:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world." ~Mr. Rogers

Post by **Pearly Di** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 5:50 pm

Yesterday evening at my church's carol service, we prayed for the victims and their families, for the emergency service responders who had to deal with this dreadful tragedy, and for the whole town.

Post by **Stranger Wings** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:12 pm

Absolutely horrible. Makes me cry just thinking about it for a moment. I pray for the children and adults who were killed, and I pray for all of their family members, and loved ones.

Hopefully, this time, the country's grief and anger will lead to meaningful advances in both gun regulation and mental health. Otherwise, we will see this again, we will grieve again, nothing will change again, and the cycle will repeat itself again.

Those who cry "don't politicize the tragedy!" have an agenda that must be thwarted. The families of these children are likely hoping, and praying, that this tragedy does not get swept under the rug like previous ones. They will likely be hoping that a change in our nation's outdated policies finally happens.

I pray for that as well.

Post by **WampusCat** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:25 pm

Amen to that.

Post by **Lalaith** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 9:30 pm

And I've lost at least one friend on Facebook because of the article I posted.

<sigh>

http://www.annerobertson.org/sandy-hook

Some Christians are making inane statements about the will and nature of God, and generally showing how little they know of either. To them I say, in all Christian love and charity, "Shut up."

"Then Job replied:

“I have heard many things like these;
you are miserable comforters, all of you!
Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?
I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head at you.
But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

Job 16:1-5

Along with all of you, I have tried to absorb the horrors that played out before us in Sandy Hook, Connecticut on December 14. I have listened to the news, scoured the Facebook postings of my friends, and looked at the various expressions of grief and shock as we all search for meaning.

And there, in the midst of unspeakable tragedy are some of my Christian brothers and sisters, making inane statements about the will and nature of God, and generally showing how little they know of either. To them I say, in all Christian love and charity, "Shut up."

On the front lines of this nonsense is the Rev. Mike Huckabee, a man who (ironically) once campaigned to be the President of the United States--someone who is expected to show up and offer comfort and solace at precisely a time like this. We see now how fortunate we are that he never attained that office.

What did Rev. Huckabee have to say to those grieving the loss of 20 six- and seven-year olds and the adults who tried to protect them? He opined that these innocents were gunned down because we "removed God from our schools."

The same sentiment is reflected in the T-shirt pictured with this post. In case you can't see the picture, it reads,

“Dear God, Why do you allow so much violence in our schools? Signed, A Concerned Student

Dear Concerned Student, I’m not allowed in schools. God”

You're kidding, right? Let's review a few Christian basics.

First, Omnipotency 101. God is not subject to school authorities or any other authority for that matter. Is your God really that small? A God that can be legislatively bound doesn't deserve the title. Nobody can keep God out of a school.

Second, the God represented on that T-shirt is callous and vengeful. The implication is that God doesn't give a flip about the massacre of children in a school because God is holding a grudge. Honestly, I'd ban that God from my school, too. You preach the Cross and believe that? Back to Sunday School for you.

Third, the words imply that if laws about prayer in school were changed, no one would ever shoot up a school. Schools would then be holy places and, therefore, God would protect them. You do know that there have been shootings in Christian churches, right? During worship services. In America. Christian faith mandates special responsibility, not special privilege.

God was not absent from Sandy Hook Elementary School. Watch the video of six-year-old Ana Marquez-Greene. As her brother plays the piano, she sings the Christian hymn, "Come Thou Almighty King." Are you telling me that Jesus let that little girl walk into school on Friday morning alone? Not a chance. He marched right in there with her, as he did every single day. He walked with her, took a bullet with her, and with a giant, love-shaped hole in his heart he carried her to a home where no bullet can reach.

And it wasn't just Ana. God walked into school with every last one of those children as well as every teacher. I believe that God even walked beside Adam Lanza, trying all the while to convince him to turn away from such a terrible abuse of his God-given freedom. And then God sobbed for all of them, as we all did.

God is not absent from Sandy Hook or any other school, public or private. But the statements by Huckabee and others do remind me how grateful I am that public schools have the sense to allow our interaction with God to be a private, silent affair. With that in place no well-intentioned bumbler can stand before students and intone that such horrors are in any way, shape, or form the will of God.

The people of Newtown, Connecticut are suffering enough. Christians should sit quietly with them, offering a soft shoulder and a common tear. If you must speak words, say only, "I love you." Otherwise, bite your tongue and let others assume you are wise.

I guess my disclaimer came too late about how I wouldn't use the term "dumb" myself, nor do I think my fellow Christians are "dumb" if they do follow this train of thought.

I wouldn't care so much, but I do have to work with this woman on a regular basis with our homeschool co-op.

Post by **Frelga** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:09 pm

Lali, fwiw, I think it was a great article. Omnipotency 101 made me giggle through the mist of tears.

I can't pray about this. I am furious that this happened, to the extent that I barely scanned through the thread here and on TORC.I feel too strongly to "agree to disagree" so it's best not to know who I am disagreeing with, if anyone.

Post by **redgiraffe** » Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:38 pm

Shelob'sAppetite wrote:Absolutely horrible. Makes me cry just thinking about it for a moment. I pray for the children and adults who were killed, and I pray for all of their family members, and loved ones.

Hopefully, this time, the country's grief and anger will lead to meaningful advances in both gun regulation and mental health. Otherwise, we will see this again, we will grieve again, nothing will change again, and the cycle will repeat itself again.

Those who cry "don't politicize the tragedy!" have an agenda that must be thwarted. The families of these children are likely hoping, and praying, that this tragedy does not get swept under the rug like previous ones. They will likely be hoping that a change in our nation's outdated policies finally happens.

I pray for that as well.

You have no idea how ridiculous it is living in Louisiana (Sportsman's Paradise) right now. I almost deleted half of my friends on facebook because everyone is in a meme-posting frenzy about whether or not we should have stricter gun control laws.

I don't mean to get political here but I think we do need some form of regulation with guns. I, honestly don't understand people's love for guns. There's just no excuse for gun owndership to be so unregulated as it is. Sure, it won't fix everything but it would probably help out.

But I think the most important issue is getting to the root of the problem. The root of this problem is mental health. It just really irks me that this issue has taken the backseat to all of the others. Most of the comments I'm seeing are either "guns did/didn't cause this," or (the one I REALLY can't stand) "what caused this is because we've been systematically trying to drive God out of our nation." That is just such a naive view to have.

I'm not trying to offend anyone of faith here, because I absolutely respect people of all religions. But to say it's because we've been driving God out of the nation is just avoiding any responsibility of actually trying to change the real problems.

Sorry, I really needed to vent. Please everyone know that this is just my opinion. I don't mean to offend anyone.

I can't even imagine what the families must be going through right now, especially watching the entire nation fighting over what really caused this man to kill these kids. The family and children will remain in my thoughts and I hope the families of the victims can find some form of peace.