A letter from two leaders of the Diocese of Southeast Florida — the Rev. Canon John Tidy, canon to the ordinary, and the Rev. Todd Cederberg, president of the standing committee — grieves the victims of the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland:
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications! (Psalm 130:1-2)
The psalmist’s words resonate profoundly with where many of us find ourselves in the wake of [Wednesday’s] horrific massacre of innocents at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. There are no words that can adequately give voice to the madness and the violence done to those gunned down, and to their families and friends so cruelly robbed of those they loved. There are no words to describe the pain of loss and grief, of shock and horror, of outrage and anger, only the anguished cries that well up from the very depths of our being. There are no words to make sense of what makes no sense, and in the face of such senseless killing we are numbed and rendered speechless.
… We reach down deep into the well of compassion and empathy to find our best pastoral response as ministers of the gospel. In the coming days we shall be called upon to articulate our faith and give voice to our people’s supplications, in private and in public, informally and liturgically. This is no easy task and we should not be afraid to admit our own vulnerabilities and confess our own confusion in the face of this violence. But let us stand in solidarity with our people and proclaim our confidence and hope in the steadfast love of the God who weeps with us and in whose love is the power to redeem and make us whole.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
