“You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.  Psalm 91:1-10

School Shooting Number 8:

“A 15-year-old girl who was wounded in the Italy High School shooting is “in good spirits,” and the 16-year-old boy suspected of opening fire in the cafeteria has been charged as a juvenile with aggravated assault, officials said Tuesday. School District superintendent Lee Joffre told reporters outside Italy High School that he visited the girl at a Dallas hospital. The teenage boy who was arrested not long after the shooting Monday morning at the school south of Dallas was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the Ellis County district attorney’s office announced Tuesday. A preliminary hearing in juvenile court is scheduled for Wednesday. He was being held at a juvenile detention center.” (Texas teen charged with assault in Italy High School shooting, Associated Press story)

Most parents like to think that when their child leaves the house for school – whether on the bus, or walking, or riding with a friend – that their child will arrive without being harmed in any way. And while their child is actually on the school property, parents again expect that their child will be safe. This has been the expectation of parents for hundreds of years – but not so much anymore. With the increase of incidents of mass shootings on and off school campuses, all American’s today have some level of concern about gun violence?

In the United States in 2014, 10,900 people died from an assault by a handgun, rifle, shotgun, larger firearm or unspecified firearm discharge. This accounted for 3.4 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC reported. Cancer accounted for 592,000 deaths or 186 deaths per 100,000 people, while influenza and pneumonia accounted for 55,000 deaths or 17 per 100,000 people. In others words, it is still much more likely that someone we know will die of cancer or the flu then will be killed in a shooting – school or otherwise.

I know these statistics do nothing to relieve any fear about the epidemic of mass shootings and gun violence our society has been forced to endure since the Columbine shootings. A lot of money and research hours are spent on the causes and the treatment of cancer. But mass shootings are more like airplane crashes than cancers – there are very few, but they receive a lot of attention when they happen. And just like cancer, the cause of these shootings is just as elusive. Some blame the availability of guns – especially assault style rifles in our country. Others blame the inadequate resources for mental health treatment. And still others blame the breakdown of the family unit in our country today.

My belief is this: if we want to feel safe about ourselves and our children in our country in the future, then we need to unite as a country under the blessings of G-d. No matter your faith tradition, there is some inherent teaching about love and the inherent dignity of all people. As for me, I will continue to preach that we work together to stop the violence and spread the love of G-d found in Jesus Christ.

Pastor Dave