Unspeakable horror

We are still watching the story unfold, but as I write this, we are receiving reports of a shooting in a Texas elementary school that has taken the lives of 18 children and at least two adults, including one teacher and the 18-year-old assailant.

This is just the most recent of such barbaric acts. Ten people shot dead at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York. Six people shot and one killed in an attack on a church in Laguna Woods, California.

These occurrences are becoming horrifyingly common to the point that we hardly notice the most recent attack.

We must not let that happen. We must continue to be horrified by this wicked behavior. We must continue to be furious at the malevolent work of the Evil One who kills, steals, and destroys. And as exhausted as we might be in our praying…as frustrated as we might be that our prayers are not being answered as we earnestly desire…we must renew our commitment to prayer, begging God’s mercy and intervention in this increasingly violent, hateful, and broken world. And we must be renewed in our mission to love, serve, and season this city of which we are a part.

We must also be vigilant in protecting those who enter our doors for sanctuary. To that end, I am asking for your help.

We wish to bolster our volunteer security team. Starting tomorrow morning, May 25, we intend to post more volunteers at high-visibility entrance areas for security watch for the next few days. No experience needed; onsite training will be provided. See the shift schedule here.

If you are willing to serve your church and those who enter her doors for whatever need, please contact Jordan Reich for details as soon as possible (call/text: 360.979.8010; or e-mail him here).

Please, will you pray for these dear families who have suffered an unspeakably evil loss. “God, have mercy on our nation and turn our hearts to yourself!”

Pastor Mark