I doubt that anyone in our church has not at some time fretted about the complicated ways in which Presbyterian churches are related to each other. As a representative democracy – in fact more of a “pure democracy” than even the government of our country – I have watched patiently as every voice was heard giving testimony before a General Assembly committee. Our local church is no less representative of our membership. Certainly the Church of the Roses is a church of many voices. Even when we sing the same song, we do not sing in unison. But harmony is much to be preferred to unison.

   The response of our denomination to the shootings on the Blacksburg, Virginia, campus is an excellent illustration of the benefits of harmony.

   The news of the shootings at Virginia Tech took my breath away. Fortunately, we do not face tragedy alone.

   Through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering that we receive at Easter time, we fund disaster response teams. A day after the shootings were in the media, three members of the Presbyterian Disaster were on their way to the campus to be a presence and resource to the community. In a dispatch from the General Assembly Council, the Executive Director introduced the team to us:

   The three team members are:

    - The Rev. Robert Barnes of Santa Fe, N.M. a retired police chaplain with extensive training and experience in responding to school shootings. He was the lead on behalf of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance at the shooting in Columbine, CO.

    - The Rev. James Kirk, Associate Pastor, The Moorings Presbyterian Church, Naples, FL. Jim also has extensive training and experience in responding to school shootings and similar events.

    - Anne Van Allen from Annapolis, MD, a retired school counselor with more than 30 years of school related mental health experience.

   The team has already been in contact with Catherine Snyder, Presbyterian campus minister, George Goodman, of the Presbytery of the Peaks, and with Alexander Evans, Pastor of Blacksburg Presbyterian Church. Evans is also a chaplain with the fire department.

   Our early contacts with those providing care in the area have been met with gratitude for the tremendous and quick response from the church, and indeed others around the world, according to Linda Valentine, Executive Director of the General Assembly Council.

   Speaking with Sharon Liddell, Superintendent of the Santa Rosa public schools, she told me that this event impacts educational institutions all over the country. Reviews of emergency procedures are on going in our schools. While we cannot always guess the nature of the next emergency we can be ready with a response.

   We have connections. We are connected to God, the Ground of our Being. We have faith and spiritual connections with our Lord who brings us through the dark valleys. We have professional connections with people who have real and demonstrated skills in counseling and reconciliation. In the name of our denomination they are hard at work with the students and families in schools such as Virginia Tech. And we have each other through the ministries of the Board of Deacons, the Pastoral staff, and the worshipping committee, when the tragedy gets very personal.

   Let’s keep first things first.

   Among the first things are the ties that bind us when we need them.
Thank God that so many of them are already in place.

John Cushman
Pastor
Presbyterian
Church of the Roses