ELCA NEWS SERVICE
December 7, 2007
ELCA Nebraska Bishop Addresses Shooting At Westroads Mall, Omaha
07-202-MRC
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. David L. deFreese, bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Nebraska Synod,
Omaha, offered a message of hope to the church in response to the
Dec. 5 shooting at the Westroads Mall, Omaha, where a 19-year-old
man opened fire killing eight people and wounding several others
before turning the gun on himself.
"Our community of Nebraska has been confronted with an
unspeakable terror," said deFreese. "One of our children, so
desperate and despondent, chose death as his response to the pain
of living, and (he) also chose to afflict so many others with
murderous agony. The horrific events overwhelm us with their
senselessness and frightfulness," he said.
"As those who follow Christ," deFreese said, "we grieve
together. Sadness permeates this whole event. We ache for those
families whose loved ones were so treacherously stolen from their
midst."
"We tell the truth. Evil is real. Human brokenness and sin
have consequences," said deFreese. "God did not cause this but
was present in the midst of the suffering."
"We turn to God, this God who continually turns to us. In
this season of 'Immanuel, God with us,' we recognize anew the
tremendous compassion of our God who came, who comes, and who
promises to be with us always," said deFreese. "We live with
hope. We move forward with purpose. Death and evil do not have
the final word. God does," he said.
The Rev. Roger A. Kruger, local coordinator, Lutheran
Disaster Response (LDR), said pastors of the ELCA Nebraska Synod
"will want to address the Westroads Mall shooting tragedy in
worship services this Sunday." Kruger offered words of advice to
pastors.
"There are some studies which show that holding many vigils
actually increase the levels of acute stress syndrome," said
Kruger. Emphasize "the message of hope, especially in the Advent
season," he said, adding that pastors can make use of familiar
rituals and hymns, allow people who may have been at that mall
during the shooting or were relatives and friends of the victims
to "retell their stories as often as needed" and "encourage
prayers, the letting go that places all things in God's hands."
LDR is a collaborative ministry of the ELCA and Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS). Kruger is a pastor of the LCMS.
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The full text of the Rev. David L. deFreese's message is at
http://tinyurl.com/2txc46 on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
