Wednesday, June 02, 2010

A dark day on a beautiful patch of earth

You've heard by now of the violence that gripped a normally quiet corner of the United Kingdom this day. Twelve people were killed by a gunman who went on a rampage across Cumbria in north-west England.

A good friend Rachel, works for the United Reformed Church in that area. Today she emailed me, asking us to remember them.

I find it hard to believe that 6 months and 2 weeks after the Cumbrian floods I am again blurring my private and work email address lists to ask for prayer for people on my patch. But if you've seen the news, you know that currently it seems that 12 people are dead and 25 more injured in a shooting rampage that began in Whitehaven and spread to many other small West Cumbria communities before the local gunman killed himself.

These are communities where everyone knows everyone - there is no chance (if there ever is) of the emergency services and local clergy feeling detatched. From the floods we learnt how long the effects are felt - those wounds are far from healed, and just last week kids from the same neighbourhood were in the bus crash in Keswick - in fact the funeral of one of them was taking place as the shooting began.


So tonight as you head off to sleep, spare a thought for those who are left in this world with pain and hurt after a day like today.

5 comments:

  1. I was praying about this on the way to work this morning. The shock is even greater because this is England, and not America: ordinary people don't carry or own guns, nor shoot down others at semi random.

    But it appears this chap did own (and was licensed for these) guns. And he had a major family falling out over inheritance. How easy it is to kick over the traces and go out of control, and over something of only limited value too, it seems. How sad that all those killed should die for something so worthless as another man's disappointment and possibly shame.

    Rachel - I pray you'll have the grace to know how to deal with the people you'll face.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such violence is impossible to understand. It must be doubly unsettling because of its randomness and senselessness. May God walk alongside these people through this sorrow.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks everyone for your prayers - long may they continue....

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was praying about this on the way to work this morning. The shock is even greater because this is England, and not America: ordinary people don't carry or own guns, nor shoot down others at semi random.

    But it appears this chap did own (and was licensed for these) guns. And he had a major family falling out over inheritance. How easy it is to kick over the traces and go out of control, and over something of only limited value too, it seems. How sad that all those killed should die for something so worthless as another man's disappointment and possibly shame.

    Rachel - I pray you'll have the grace to know how to deal with the people you'll face.

    ReplyDelete



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