Beyond the Pulpit 2.23.25

For sure, this has been a week like none other, following the shooting that left 3 people dead in the parking lot of Harris Teeter on Monday. While the week started off on a pretty typical path, it has been anything but typical as the week unfolded.

As a community we certainly grieve, we are stunned, and we are afraid. We have questions, which may never have answers. We have anger. And we don’t know what we can do.

Friends, I invite you to come to church today, if at all possible. God created us to be in relationship with one another, and it is in our coming together that we can make it through. It is in community that we can find hope. We will take time in our Adult & Youth Grow Groups to check in with each other and extend care.

As a note, please be aware that I am working with other community leaders and clergy and mental health professionals to provide an opportunity for the community to come together at some point in the coming weeks. The goal of this event is to bring the community together for healing while also increasing exposure of the mental health services available in our community. It will be an open-house style event with mental health professionals onsite to speak with attendees as needed. While true therapy cannot be provided on site, the presence of an empathetic, trauma-informed ear has the potential to be hugely impactful. There will hopefully also be additional resources including the names of local therapists that currently have openings for new clients, and who might also be willing to offer a few pro bono sessions. We will also have a space for prayer and candle lighting, as well as informal gathering spaces to simply be together as we seek to heal in mind, body, spirit, and community. If you or someone you know would like to participate in making this event happen, there will be a planning meeting on Tuesday evening. Please contact me for details.

Finally, please know that CUMC will be holding the service for Peter Martin, one of the victims of last Monday’s shooting. Peter and his family were with us at the 4pm service this past Christmas Eve. The service will be next Saturday, March 1. Please be in prayer for his wife and two daughters, his parents and siblings.