While on vacation in a nearby state, I met a mother who shared with me the panic she felt on the day she learned there was a shooting at the school where three of her children were students. She talked about the normalcy of sending them off to school that morning with their book bags and lunches before heading to her friend’s house for a book group.
The news of the shooting was announced to her group that morning by an individual who did not realize that she had children at that particular school. She recalled how she left in a hurry, filled with fear, not knowing whether her children were among those who died that day.
Her story was heartbreaking to me. It made me realize how many mothers live in fear for their children’s safety on a daily basis as they send them off to school or out to play with friends. It reminded me how many parents experience fear every time their teenager drives off in a car. Traumatized by violence, so many communities are suffering. I know it should not be this way for any parent or child.
The violence in the world in which we live continues to disturb me. Most recently, our hearts ache for those impacted by the mass shooting on the 4th of July in Highland Park, Illinois, where people were celebrating Independence Day. This unexpected violence at the annual parade caused the senseless deaths of seven people including a father who died protecting his son. More than 40 others were wounded by the gunfire or injured amidst the panicked crowd.
This tragedy follows a long list of random shootings that have taken place at churches, movie theaters, workplaces, concerts, grocery stores and schools. The rise in violent crimes continues to impact not only our country, but also Virginia and Hampton Roads. Due to gun violence, countless individuals and families have lost mothers, fathers, siblings, children, spouses, friends and co-workers. They are remembered every day.
Perhaps it is only natural to feel a lack of control and to question our ability to protect ourselves and those we love. At times, it may be tempting to feel hopeless, but it is critical that we work together to discover ways we can address violence in our community.
Many will say we need to address mental health, and we do. While mental health awareness and treatment are critical to the health and well-being of a community, the truth is most people who struggle with mental illness are victims of violence, not the perpetrators.
Many will say we need to address the availability of weapons and legislation on gun control, and we do. Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit which tracks gun deaths and injuries, reports that there are about two suicides for every homicide.
Many will say we need to confront racial inequities in our neighborhoods if we are going to move forward, and we do. The Centers for Disease Control reports “Black Americans are 10 times more likely than white Americans to die from gun violence. Even worse, Black children and teens are 14 times more likely to die from gun homicide than their white counterparts.”
Many will say we need to address environmental factors such as violence found in movies, television, the internet and video games, and we do. Exposure to violence puts people at risk for becoming desensitized to violence and thus accepting it as normal.
So where do we begin? I recently listened to an interview with Dr. Susan Sorenson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who directs the Ortner Center on Violence and Abuse. Advocating a multi-faceted approach, Sorenson named the past efforts of public health to reduce vehicle crashes on the highways. Reducing speed limits, wearing seat belts, changing the design of cars and introducing driver’s education in schools were all needed. Sorenson emphasized that mass shootings and gun violence will also need a comprehensive approach.
What part could faith communities play in a comprehensive approach to stop violence? My church recently participated in a workshop sponsored the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. The presentation and discussions were inspiring. I was reminded that it is not enough to be sad or angry about hatred and violence, we are called to take action. Our congregation was challenged to reflect on the things that we need to start doing, stop doing and continue doing. I left with the hope that there is a lot that people of faith can do to promote a positive, healthy and peaceful community.
I was reminded of the Prayer of Saint Francis, which has appealed to people of diverse faiths.
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is darkness light, and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
How different our world would be if instead of escalating violence by responding with hatred, aggression and quarreling among ourselves, we modeled a way of living and being in the world that diminished fear and violence by responding with compassion, courage and love. What would it be like to pass down stories of hope to the next generation?
As it turned out, the mother whose children encountered a shooter at their school was able to share a story of hope with me. Her children were among the survivors on that tragic day, though one daughter sustained a gunshot wound that injured her arm. Her daughter’s journey towards healing has not been easy, but she is grateful to be alive. Unfortunately, not everyone’s story ends this way.
The Rev. Becky Evans Glass is executive director at Peninsula Pastoral Counseling Center in Newport News. She can be reached by email at beglass@peninsulapastoral.org
