Resources

My sermon this morning focused on the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that shook our country just two days ago. As I said in my sermon, this tragedy affected me deeply, perhaps because I became aware of it while holding my own son in my arms. I have collected the following links I've found helpful in dealing with this awfulness. They may speak to you as well. If you have found other resources helpful, please leave them in the comments. Thanks.


A powerful reflection on mental illness: I Am Adam Lanza's Mother

A reflection on the Advent 3C lectionary texts in light of the tragedy: How can we rejoice? Thanks to Sarah Friesen-Carper for this link.


A lengthy, detailed set of facts about guns and mass shootings in the US from Ezra Klein, who says,

Only with gun violence do we respond to repeated tragedies by saying that mourning is acceptable but discussing how to prevent more tragedies is not. “Too soon,” howl supporters of loose gun laws. But as others have observed, talking about how to stop mass shootings in the aftermath of a string of mass shootings isn’t “too soon.” It’s much too late.
What follows here isn’t a policy agenda. It’s simply a set of facts — many of which complicate a search for easy answers — that should inform the discussion that we desperately need to have.

Thanks to Chris Praedel for this link.

Some basic information about the Sandy Hook shooting. 

More details from the New York Times.

On the same day, a school attack in China saw a man stab 22 children, though none appear to have died.

A resource for talking with children about tragedy from the National Disaster Interfaiths Network.

A listing of mass shootings in the US in the past year.

When We Notice That Life is Fragile  Thanks to Jaala Smith for this link.