A lesson in forgiveness
‘Everyone Welcome’—Even Now
After a senseless act of violence in our church, we did not give in to anger. We sought a better way.
By Chris Buice, Newsweek
Buice is minister of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville.
"Shall we meet hate with hate?" That has been a recurring question throughout history and, recently, a personal one for me. On a Sunday morning last July, a man walked into the sanctuary of my church, took a shotgun out of a guitar case and opened fire on a room of unarmed men, women and children. Two precious people, Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger, lost their lives. Six others were injured. Our entire community was traumatized.
According to a manifesto in his handwriting, the alleged assailant reportedly wrote of his hatred for liberals, whom he believed were soft on terror. He was in for a surprise. Members of our congregation rushed forward and tackled the shooter. Others acted instantly to guide children to safety, call police and emergency assistance, care for the wounded and counsel those in grief and shock.
This misguided man may have picked our congregation because we call ourselves a liberal church. In our church, the word "liberal" is meant to describe whom we include, not whom we exclude. The children in our congregation say these words in chapel services: "Ours is the church of the loving heart, open mind and helping hands." Our understanding of liberalism speaks to a generosity of spirit that transcends partisan politics. Sadly, though, the word "liberal" has become demonized. The man accused of the shootings owned books by popular media personalities who vilify liberals as evil, unpatriotic, godless and treasonous. [Emphasis ours.] I think our country needs to reclaim the word from those who defame it. Far from being evil, we liberals aspire to overcome evil with good. If you walk into a liberal church and open fire on its members, we will still defend your right to due process, access to an attorney and a fair trial.
(Continued here.)
After a senseless act of violence in our church, we did not give in to anger. We sought a better way.
By Chris Buice, Newsweek
Buice is minister of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville.
"Shall we meet hate with hate?" That has been a recurring question throughout history and, recently, a personal one for me. On a Sunday morning last July, a man walked into the sanctuary of my church, took a shotgun out of a guitar case and opened fire on a room of unarmed men, women and children. Two precious people, Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger, lost their lives. Six others were injured. Our entire community was traumatized.
According to a manifesto in his handwriting, the alleged assailant reportedly wrote of his hatred for liberals, whom he believed were soft on terror. He was in for a surprise. Members of our congregation rushed forward and tackled the shooter. Others acted instantly to guide children to safety, call police and emergency assistance, care for the wounded and counsel those in grief and shock.
This misguided man may have picked our congregation because we call ourselves a liberal church. In our church, the word "liberal" is meant to describe whom we include, not whom we exclude. The children in our congregation say these words in chapel services: "Ours is the church of the loving heart, open mind and helping hands." Our understanding of liberalism speaks to a generosity of spirit that transcends partisan politics. Sadly, though, the word "liberal" has become demonized. The man accused of the shootings owned books by popular media personalities who vilify liberals as evil, unpatriotic, godless and treasonous. [Emphasis ours.] I think our country needs to reclaim the word from those who defame it. Far from being evil, we liberals aspire to overcome evil with good. If you walk into a liberal church and open fire on its members, we will still defend your right to due process, access to an attorney and a fair trial.
(Continued here.)
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