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After shootings, Arizona churches pray

 
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Jan. 11, 2011

Candles surround a portrait of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., during a vigil outside the Tucson University Medical Center.  A web-only photo by Shaukat Masood Zafar.
Candles surround a portrait of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., during a vigil outside the Tucson University Medical Center. A web-only photo by Shaukat Masood Zafar.

Responding to the Jan. 8 shootings in Tucson, Ariz., United Methodists around the world are joining in prayer for the six killed and more than dozen wounded. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., the apparent target, remains in critical condition.

The Rev. Mark Maddox, pastor of Tucson’s Sanctuary United Methodist Church, altered his already-prepared Sunday sermon to reflect on the tragedy.

“There have always been senseless acts like the one we had yesterday,” he said, “and we may ask ourselves, where was God?

“Not for a second do I believe that God caused this to happen. I tend to look at the response. Two people tackled the gunman — while he still had bullets in the gun. To me, that’s God working in their hearts.

“We could list several other ways God’s been working through this incident,” he said, “from the first responders, to the medical team, to the way the country stopped and prayed – and this list goes on.”

Two Tucson United Methodist congregations — St. Mark’s and Desert Skies — held evening prayer vigils on Jan. 8. Similar events took place at the State Capitol in Phoenix and outside Giffords’ district office in Tucson.

St. Mark’s is the closest in proximity to where the shootings occurred. The Rev. Sharon Ragland, senior pastor, said. “It is very, very unsettling.”

About 50 people came to the St. Mark’s vigil to pray, sing and light candles. It was simply “a time to be together,” Ragland said. She said several church families have children who attend the same school as the youngest victim, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, and she is helping them to cope with the situation.

Still, she added, “we’re celebrating the courage of many people in the midst of tragedy.”

An opportunity ‘to pray and connect with others’

The Rev. Dan Hurlbert, senior pastor at Desert Skies, said members felt it was important to open their doors to the community. “We are in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, which means Gabrielle Giffords is our representative in Congress.” Of the 100 people who attended the vigil, about half were not members of the congregation. Among them were local politicians and members of the state legislature.

“Our pastors offered counsel for some time after the service to those who were particularly hurting,” Hurlbert said. “Most of the people … simply wanted a quiet place to pray and connect with others.”

Sanctuary United Methodist Church, Tucson, Ariz., posted this message of comfort on its webpage. A UMNS photo courtesy of Sanctuary United Methodist Church.
Sanctuary United Methodist Church, Tucson, Ariz., posted this message of comfort on its webpage. A UMNS photo courtesy of Sanctuary United Methodist Church.

At the vigil, prayers were offered for the victims, the responders, those traumatized because they were in the area, and those whose friends and family members were injured or killed.

“We also prayed for the shooter,” Hurlbert said. “We prayed that our elected leaders and media outlets might bring light … to an already contentious political climate.

“We have members who worked for Congresswoman Giffords as volunteers in her recent and previous campaigns. While not everyone in Tucson is close to someone who was shot, I have yet to meet anyone who has not been affected by this terrible event.”

Pam Simon, an active member of St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church in Tucson, was shot twice. She is no longer in critical condition but is still in the hospital. She serves as a part-time outreach coordinator for Giffords.

“She is doing very well,” said the Rev. P. David Wilkinson, pastor at St. Francis of the Foothills. “She is quite alert and happy to be alive.”

Wilkinson described Simon as “our social justice spearhead” and “an incredible lady.”

Another member of the congregation, Alex Villec, 19, is an intern for Giffords. He witnessed the shootings but was not injured.

Wilkinson noted that post-traumatic stress disorder is a concern, for both those who were shot and those who were not.

United Methodist Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, who leads the Desert Southwest Annual (regional) Conference, called for prayers of healing and expressed concern about whether the shooting was an expression of “growing intolerance.”

Pam Simon. A UMNS web-only photo courtesy of Desert Southwest Annual Conference.
Pam Simon. A UMNS web-only photo courtesy of Desert Southwest Annual Conference.
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‘This is a time to heal’

The Arizona Ecumenical Council, a collaborative organization of Christian churches, has scheduled several “Interfaith Services of Mourning, Healing and Hope” to occur simultaneously at 5:30 p.m. (MT) Jan. 11 throughout the state.

Carcaño will be involved, along with Rabbi John Linder of Temple Solel; Jan Flaaten, executive director of the Arizona Ecumenical Council; and Joe Rubio of the Valley Interfaith Project. Catalina United Methodist Church in Tucson will host one of the services. Participating congregations also include Griffith United Methodist Church in Las Vegas and First United Methodist Church in Yuma, Ariz.

On Jan. 12, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will participate in a memorial service at the McKale Center on the University of Arizona campus. The president will speak at a 6 p.m. event, titled “Together We Thrive: Tucson and America.”

President Obama, in a televised address, said, “What Americans do at times of tragedy is to come together and support each other. So at this time I ask all Americans to join me and Michelle in keeping all the victims and their families … in our thoughts and prayers.”

And at Sanctuary United Methodist Church, Maddox reminded the congregation, “This isn’t the time to blame others or to blame God. This is a time to heal.”

He reflected on Jesus’ words in the New Testament. “My peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid. For, I am with you always — even until the end of time.”

*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications. Joanie Faust, writer/editor, Communications Department, Desert Southwest Annual Conference, also contributed to this story.

News media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5489 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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