A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping.
–Jeremiah 31:15a   NRSV

Beloved in Christ,

News of the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis during morning Mass has left us heartbroken, shaken, and searching for words. Violence in a place devoted to worship, learning, and safety pierces our spirits and unsettles our sense of well-being as individuals and as a community of faith.

We lift in prayer the families whose children were taken by this tragedy and those who are injured, asking God to surround them with comfort and strength. We also hold in prayer the Annunciation parish community, the first responders, and all who witnessed or carry the weight of this violence. In the spirit of Christ, we even remember the family of the individual who carried out this act, trusting in a God whose mercy extends into the deepest places of human brokenness.

This painful moment reminds us of our deep need for peace, for reconciliation, and for communities where God’s justice and mercy are not only proclaimed but embodied. As followers of Jesus, we cling to the promise of resurrection as we resist fear with love, despair with hope, and violence with the unrelenting grace of God.

Please join me in prayer.

God of the Annunciation,
you spoke life into Mary’s fear and into the world’s darkness.
Today, as we grieve children whose lives were cut short,
and as we stand in the shadow of violence
in a parish that bears the name of promise,
we ache for that same Word of life.

Breathe your mercy into this community.
Cradle every grieving heart in your compassion.
Speak again your promise that death will not have the final word.
Make us instruments of your peace,
that we may bear witness to life even in the valley of loss.

Through Christ, who is our light and our hope. Amen.

Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Resident Bishop
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church