Dear Saints in Santa Fe and other far-off places, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, the one whom others asked if anything good could come out of Nazareth. Now, I am wondering, might anything good come out of Nashville? We’ve heard too many names of individuals and cities falling victim to gun violence, resembling the cadence of a litany too difficult to finish, name after name, day after day, year after year. Almost unbearable . . ., no, it is unbearable, to imagine the pain and loss this lengthening litany represents. We now include Louisville with yesterday’s shooting at a downtown bank...

Dear Saints in Santa Fe and other far-off places, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, who is leading us through Holy Week. While the world seems fixated today on New York City and the arraignment of a former President, Jesus is in Jerusalem confronting the powers and principalities of the world. It is far too easy, and done without much thought, to jump directly from the excitement of Palm Sunday (though what a beautiful day on the Plaza as we gathered with the Cathedral Basilica and Church of the Holy Faith!) to the joy of Easter.  Rather, we are called to follow Jesus, day by day, not look away, and stay close.

Dear Saints in Santa Fe and other far-off places, Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, who wept at the site and sight of death. Another shooting, this time in Nashville.  And this time we heard our name:  Presbyterian. It doesn’t matter if it happened at a school run by another denomination, this time the Presbyterian Church of America, the name is ours, the tragedy is ours.  We are connected.  We are part of the same family, the same country, the same world.  The victims are related to us.  The children are ours.  The grief is ours.