By Bill Leonard
It happened again. Barely a year after six people were killed and a U.S. congresswoman and 13 others wounded in Tucson, Ariz., yet another deeply troubled shooter brought death to 12 individuals, wounding 58 others at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.
The accused perpetrator, decked out in protective military gear, possessed four tactical weapons including a semi-automatic rifle and 6,000 rounds of Internet-secured ammunition, all accumulated legally. Again a stunned nation struggled to respond to families staggered by unimaginable, unanticipated grief as yet another a city united around candlelight vigils, makeshift shrines and funeral services honoring the memory of persons ranging in age from 6 to 51.
Maybe none of us will go to the movies and really feel safe again. Or send our kids to a cinema complex without warning them to check the exits and beware of dark figures in doorways. Media reports suggest that gun sales have skyrocketed since that ghastly July event, Netflix subscriptions too, no doubt, as some decide to take no chances at theaters.
Public responses to the tragedy were immediate, mirroring both concern and controversy. One congressman suggested that the absence of prayer from public schools contributed to the nation’s violent youth, and speculated on whether a better armed audience would have insured greater safety.
One Colorado preacher noted that “when Christians die early it seems tragic” but really it is not since they all go to “a wonderful place.” Yet he warned grief-stricken families that those who “knowingly rejected Jesus” go to “a terrible place,” apparently minimizing pastoral care to maximize evangelistic imperative.
Certain theater owners proposed a ban on movie-goer costumes, an immediate response to the garb of the Aurora shooter dressed for a Batman movie.
Journalist Bill Moyers denounced the National Rifle Association for its control of politicians and promotion of firearm legislation, a topic echoed by Washington Post columnist E. J. Dionne who wrote, “God forbid that we question even a single tenet of the theology of firearms” rampant in the U. S., involving the worship of weapons and contributing to a culture of death. Jon Stewart of
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart essentially agreed, noting with his characteristic irony that purchasing Sudafed decongestants at the local pharmacy required more verification than was necessary for securing 6,000 rounds of ammo on the Internet.
But perhaps the most descriptive and realistic commentary came from the executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners who observed of American firearm habits: “We’re different than other cultures. We do allow Americans to possess the accoutrements that our military generally has.”
He is quite correct. Where industrialized democracies and firearms are concerned, we Americans are indeed “different than other cultures.” In fact, in the aftermath of Aurora, the consensus among gun-control and gun-advocates alike is that nothing will change very much in our firearm-committed society.
In all probability no one now reading these words will live long enough to see Americans modify our overall belief and practice related to the sale and possession of what became weapons of mass destruction at the Aurora cinemas. And beyond those multiple murders are the no less poignant single shootings experienced daily in communities across the country.
Indeed, only four days after the Aurora devastation police in Dobson, N.C., shot and killed a man who wounded an officer that was responding to a “domestic disturbance” precipitated in part, the Winston-Salem Journal reported, when a married couple began “arguing over several things, including the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.”
Hardly a week later yet another police officer in a neighboring county was shot to death while responding to a 911 call. Firearm-related violence is a way of life and death in 21st century America. It is a reality that calls the church to increased intentionality for ministry to the growing number of people affected by such carnage.
So we ask: Do we need a national ecumenical council on reshaping ministry before and after firearm-related bloodshed? Do congregations across the theological and denominational spectrum need to train “911 response teams” to care for families and communities crushed by continuing, often unexpected, firearm violence?
Are faith communities committed to ministry for the long haul, beyond the initial trauma of firearm deaths to the haunting hurt that endures? How might seminaries and pastoral care programs intensify ministerial training specifically related to violent deaths whether singular or collective? Does your church have a strategy for crisis ministry when shots sound in the local cinema or shopping mall?
This essential, not incidental, ministry is demanded here and now because firearm-related dangers, whether in mass murders or “domestic disturbances,” will not go away. Indeed, given the realities of our violence-plagued society, every one of us needs a course called Candlelight Vigil 101.