On Monday, Feb. 13, a lone gunman took the lives of three Michigan State students and injured five more before turning the gun on himself. IHM Sisters have a long history of denouncing gun violence. Monday’s mass shooting was no different from the 66 others have occurred in 2023, except that it was right in our own backyard.
In 2013, over 11,000 U.S. citizens were killed by gun violence. In 2020 (the latest year for which numbers are available), the total number of gun-related deaths more than quadrupled to 45,222. This increase was facilitated by our nation’s continued refusal to enact any meaningful gun safety legislation in the face of mass shooting after mass shooting.
We grieve with our brothers and sisters in East Lansing. We condemn the culture of gun violence that is the root cause of this tragedy. We are angry that this issue has not been addressed in a meaningful way by elected officials and we renew our commitment to enact change within ourselves, our congregation, our Church and our national and global communities.
We offer the prayer, A Prayer In Response to Gun Violence and invite others to pray with us:
Let us lament with all those who are touched by gun violence
The Rev. Dr. Ellen Clark-King, Executive Pastor and Canon for Social Justice
Let us lament the shooter’s choice for violence
Let us lament laws that allow violent men easy access to guns
Let us lament our politicians’ unwillingness to work for change
Let us lament with the hearts broken by loss today
Let us lament all the lives cut short today
Let us lament, O God, and then let us rise from our knees to work for change
In the name of Christ, the prince of peace. Amen.
We pray specifically for Brian Fraser, Alexandria Verner and Arielle Anderson who lost their lives and for the five individuals still recovering in the hospital.
We keep their loved ones and all who were present during the attack in our thoughts as they grapple with its aftermath. We hold in our hearts all those killed by gun violence and those they left behind.
Amen.
The IHM Leadership Council
Margaret Chapman, IHM – Treasurer and Mission Councilor
Marianne Gaynor, IHM – Vice President and Mission Councilor
Mary Jane Herb, IHM, President
Patricia McCluskey, IHM – Mission Councilor
Ellen Rinke, IHM – Mission Councilor