Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. –
— Romans 12:15
Dear PCO Members and Friends,
Our church mission statement begins with these words:
We believe that in life, in death, and life beyond death,
We belong to God.
That is our great hope. Our great light in the darkness. Our great comfort. It is also our great marching orders. Because as a people who belong to God we are called to be the face of Christ to each other.
This morning our entire community is reeling from the deadly mass shooting at MSU. We are all impacted. We all have a story to tell. We have a range of emotions from anger to sadness to fear to frustration. We have no answers for our children who ask “Why?” We have no answers for the question we keep asking, “Lord, how long must this continue?”
And yet, we have each other. And we have love. As 1 Corinthians 13:13 reminds us: “And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.” Let us respond with love on this Valentine’s Day, 2023. Let us respond with love for the MSU community, for each other, and for our world.
The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offers a process for responding to tragedy: PDA. Pray. Donate. Act. We will begin with prayer. But we won’t stop there. We will be proving opportunities for contributing your time, talent, and resources to make changes in our community. And we will Act. We must Act.
We are opening the church Tuesday Feb 14 from 10 a.m. on for those who want to talk, a space to pray, and for those who wish to be in community. Rebekah and I will be available for counsel and prayer. Plans are underway for a community prayer vigil and we will keep you posted on those details.
Please reach out as you have need. We will be in prayer for you, MSU and for our entire community.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Lisa Schrott and Rev. Rebekah Anderson
Pastor/Head of Staff and Associate Pastor at the Presbyterian Church of Okemos
