ELCA NEWS SERVICE

February 8, 2008  

ELCA Synod Bishop Expresses 'Shock, Sadness' over Missouri Shootings
08-010-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Gerald L. Mansholt, bishop of the
Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), expressed "deep shock and great sadness" in the
wake of the Feb. 7 shooting incident in Kirkwood, Mo., that left
six people dead, including the gunman.
     The shootings happened as a meeting of the Kirkwood City
Council was beginning. A lone gunman shot and killed a police
officer outside Kirkwood City Hall, and took the officer's gun
and his into the council meeting.  The gunman shot and fatally
wounded another police officer, two members of the council and
the city's public works director before police shot and killed
the gunman.  Kirkwood's mayor was seriously wounded, and a
newspaper reporter was shot in the hand.
     "This is an unspeakable tragedy for all who were involved
and for the community of Kirkwood," Mansholt wrote in a Feb. 8
message to synod congregations. "My thoughts and prayers are with
all who were affected. I pray especially for the families of the
five innocent victims whose lives were cut short so suddenly, and
for the family of the shooter, who must be filled with anguish
and hurt in the aftermath of what happened."
     No members of ELCA congregations were directly involved,
Mansholt wrote. The Central States Synod includes ELCA
congregations in Kansas and Missouri.
     All people are affected by such a tragedy, and there will be
many questions to ponder in the days to come, he wrote.
     "There is one certainty, however. God is with us at all
times in the midst of great sorrow, tragedy and death. In the
letter to the Romans, Paul says there is nothing in all of
creation that can separate us from God's love for us in Jesus
Christ, not even the senseless killings. In this season of Lent
as Christians contemplate the mystery of Christ's death, we find
comfort and hope in God who walks with us through the darkness of
this world to light and life eternal. God's love in Christ
triumphs over the sin and darkness of this world," Mansholt
wrote.
     "In the midst of things we are unable to understand or
comprehend, 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," he wrote.
     Mansholt concluded his message by asking people to join him
in prayer and support for the community of Kirkwood, for Trinity
Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Kirkwood, for all ELCA
congregations in the surrounding area, and for all other people
in the greater metropolitan St. Louis area.
---
     The full text of Bishop Mansholt's statement is at
http://www.css-ELCA.org/index.php3 on the Web.

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