The harvest has passed the summer is ended. And we are not saved. -Jeremiah's Lament.

Beloved Community,

Like you, I awakened to the shocking news that the largest mass shooting in American history occurred last night at a concert in Las Vegas. As the chaos unfolds around this attack on social media, in the news, and as the numbers of injured and deceased climb- I want to invite you in my role as Spiritual Navigator of our journey to remember what we have been reflecting on as we journey together.

1) In invite you to pay attention to what is going on inside you as this horrible situation unfolds (Interior Movement). Identify, feel, and hold with those difficult emotions. (Sadness, Shock, Numbness, Anger, Grief- whatever is coming up for you.). Notice these feelings and invite God into them.

2) I invite you to pay attention to what kind of Exterior Movement/Action is your first impulse. (Trying to assign blame, Raging on Social Media, Watching the News Feeds impulsively, Cutting off from others-- whatever is coming up in you.) Pay attention to what is going on. But don't act on it. Just watch it and invite God into it (Or do it if you need to and invite God into it).

3) I invite you to pay attention to the deeper Exterior Movement/Action God might be calling you/us to. (Opening to Silence, Praying, Writing, Reading Scripture/Poetry, Doing something that is comforting to you, checking-in with Neighbors, Hearing and Telling Stories, Strategizing about working for assault weapons bans, calling our representatives, watching for indications of racism, anti Muslim bias, and white privilege in media reporting so you are educating yourself- whatever is coming up for you.) These are God filled actions/exterior movements of power, self-care, and justice seeking.

Know that I am praying for all of us this morning- as we also pray for the families of the deceased, the traumatized concert goers, the residents of Las Vegas, for the first responders, for the shooter's family, and for our nation's leaders that they might respond to lessons unlearned about banning the kinds of weapons used in Las Vegas, and in other mass shootings such as Pulse/Orlando, Aurora, Virginia Tech, San Bernardino, Ft. Hood, Charleston, and Sandy Hook. We must rip away our denial and complicity in this terrorism and violence so our nation can be safer for everyone.

I love you. And I invite you to reach out to each other and feel the energy moving through our hands and around our circle as we grieve together. It is from this place we will confront this tragedy- and it is from this place we are called move out our doors and into our community with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with love, and with power.

With Warmest Regards and Blessings, Rev. Jeanne

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