Mourning with a City

The city of Orlando is a community in shock and sadness.  There have been many tragedies across this country that have involved terrorism or mass shootings, and statistically these have been on the rise.  This weekend has seen a number of tragedies for our community.  It began with Christina Grimmie, a rising pop singer was shot at the Plaza Live Theater after her concert.  She was performing along side a band "Before You Exit", made up of three brothers who are all members of First Presbyterian Church of Orlando.  Christina Grimmie is also an outspoken Christian who often sang on youtube, it is reported that she had been praying just prior to her murder.  Then came the tragic and horrifying news of the biggest mass shooting in the history of our country at Pulse, an Orlando gay nightclub.  Although the investigation has uncovered a complex motive, it appears that hate towards homosexuals and terrorist sympathies were motivations.  It was a grim and sad reminder of the hate that exists within the human heart.  Then came the shocking story of a young boy taken by an alligator at the Walt Disney World Resort, the first of this kind of attack at Disney World.  The shock, grief, and horror experienced by so many this weekend is unimaginable.  Our community will continue to process these experiences in the days and years to come, the mass shooting is an event that will forever have an impact on those of us that have come to call Orlando our home.

This shooting comes almost to the first anniversary of another shooting at the Emanuel AME church in South Carolina that saw the death of nine at a Bible study.  In that case, the shooter wanted to start a race war, and sat in the Bible study with the victims for an hour before shooting.  He was welcomed with open arms and responded in cold blooded hatred.   Yet, the AME church responded after the attack by opening its doors even wider to the community.  As the congregation approaches its anniversary of the tragedy, 150 were reported present at the Bible study, services have been thrown wide open to the public, a day of "Acts of Amazing Grace Day".  This congregation at Emanuel AME has responded to hate with acts of kindness and grace.

These events are all reminders that evil still exists, but that we are also called to come along side of others and offer our support and assistance.  This was equally demonstrated by the countless that stood in line to give blood, raise money, leave a tribute, the first responders that came ready to help in a crisis, and mental health counselors who came to assist.  Our faith as Christians, is that even though we may not understand why certain things happen, we can be assured that God will overcome evil in the end, and that we are called to be part of that mission.  It is also our responsibility to work towards a society that is more tolerant of others, and implements public policies that are common sense and may help reduce the number of violent incidents.  For now, we all will pause to remember the victims and the senseless tragedy that has hurt so many, and find small ways to express our unity as a community in Central Florida.