Reflections and Ramblings--Assistant Minister Pastor Dan Wilkie  

          I sit here at my desk, looking out on the lovely snow which would normally make me very happy, but it does not erase the overwhelming sadness. You see I am struggling to make sense of the shootings in Arvada and Colorado Springs by a young man who obviously was an extremely depressed and emotionally ill youth.
          I find it very difficult to understand what would make a very bright person, a person with so much promise, a person once so committed to Christ that he even attended the Mission Center that became one focus of his rage, do such horrible things. What manner of things help to fuel such rage in folks like him? I see the horrific damage that has been done once again to the families of the victims of the young shooter, torn apart and grieving because of such senseless violence. I ask if there will ever be a time when we find other ways to resolve our differences, to deal with anger and rage in ways that do not include violence.
Even in the way the young shooter was stopped was troubling: I see the security guard as a hero for risking her life and saving many, but... armed security guards in church? What is the faith we profess, the faith of love, and kindness, the faith of charity and good will coming to?
          I don’t know about you, but all aspects of this entire episode seem particularly cruel as I write this during the season of Advent, a time when we look forward to Christmas, the birth of Christ, and the love, hope, joy, peace and, most of all, good will that His life is supposed to represent.
          But maybe with the beginning of a new year, like the crystal shimmering of snow on a sunny winter’s day the possibility exists for newness, new thoughts, and new attitudes. Maybe as we seek to live our prayers, seeking to truly live in the spirit of LOVE for one another, exemplified by Christ’s birth at Christmas, the answers will come.
          I know these may seem like heavy thoughts, but I feel they are necessary thoughts, so as you reflect on them may you be blessed with a peaceful and hopeful New Year.

         Blessings, Dan