The July 10 edition of The Living Church is available online to registered subscribers. This issue’s lead news report describes church leaders’ responses to the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando:
“Words of condolence have little value in the face of this carnage. For right now, all we can do is grieve, pray, and support the families of those who have died the best we can,” said the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, Bishop of Central Florida.
“What I do believe is that love is stronger than death. The promise of resurrection brings courage, and the promise of ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ should fuel all of God’s people to help build a better world.”
During a June 19 vigil at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Brewer reflected on the heroic response of many in Orlando — and the fear of violence that many LGBT people have known. He said stories of commonplace assaults show that “while the Pulse attack was horrific and out of the ordinary, there is something that happens when you’re gay, that you almost fear when the next incident will happen, and when you will be rejected next. We have a long way to go before ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’”
