ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 1, 2009
Lutheran Leaders Respond to Slaying in Wichita Church
09-126-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), issued a statement in
response to the May 31 murder of Dr. George Tiller at Reformation
Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Wichita, Kan.
Tiller was serving as an usher for Sunday morning worship when he
was shot and killed. A suspect was arrested later in connection with the
killing.
"Dr. George Tiller and his wife, Jeanne, were gathering with the
people of Reformation Lutheran Church to worship and to celebrate
Pentecost -- the coming of the Holy Spirit to God's people," Hanson
said. "In the wake of his death we pray that the Holy Spirit will comfort
his family and all who mourn."
"We pray for the courage to be peacemakers, rejecting violence as a
means of resolving differences. We trust God's promise that neither death
nor life nor anything in all creation will be able to separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord," Hanson said.
The Rev. Lowell R. Michelson and the Rev. Kristin M. Neitzel are
pastors of Reformation Lutheran Church. The congregation is part of the
ELCA Central States Synod, led by Bishop Gerald L. Mansholt.
Michelson and Neitzel posted a public statement on the
congregation's Web site, noting that Tiller had been a longtime member of
the congregation.
"In the wake of this tragic event, our deepest concern is for the
family of George Tiller. We ask the community to join us in prayer for
them as they face the difficult days ahead. Our hearts ache with them. We
also ask that the family's privacy be respected," the pastors said.
They added that counselors were helping members of the
congregation. "We pray for healing and peace to be restored. We offer our
thanks for the many prayers of support from across the country,"
Michelson and Neitzel wrote.
In a letter to the ELCA Central States Synod, Mansholt wrote: "In
this time of tragedy and sorrow we give thanks to God who comforts us in
times of need and loss. In the midst of things we are unable to
understand ... we continue to trust in the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life eternal. In that
promise of God there is healing and hope for the whole world."
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Bishop Hanson's full statement is at http://tinyurl.com/m2gq82
on the ELCA Web site.
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
