Wednesday, October 04, 2006
From the Bishop
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
On Monday, October 2, a random act of gun violence in the very heart of our Eastern Pennsylvania Conference took the lives of three Amish school girls and wounded eight more. The gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, then took his own life, leaving behind a widow and three young children.
Innocent lives have been taken senselessly, again due to gun violence. God weeps for his children who were the victims of this act of handgun violence, for their families, and for all of us, as we are all victims of these senseless violent acts.
United Methodists immediately responded to the incident, trying to assist the victims’ families and others grieving in the shocked community of Paradise, Pennsylvania. I give thanks for these laypersons and pastors, including the Rev. Jim Todd, superintendent for the Southwest District in Lancaster County, who, as members of the Body of Christ, shared God’s love with a hurting world.
I urge you to commit to pray in your communities, in your churches, and in your personal daily prayers:
Pray for the families of the Amish girls who were killed and who were wounded, and for the family of Charles Carl Roberts.
Pray fervently for an end to gun violence in the town of Paradise, in the City of Philadelphia, in whole region, and throughout the world.
Pray for our elected leaders who are responsible for the laws that will keep the peace, and for public servants who maintain the peace here and abroad.
Pray for peace and for the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth.
Yours in Christ,
Marcus Matthews, Bishop of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church
On Monday, October 2, a random act of gun violence in the very heart of our Eastern Pennsylvania Conference took the lives of three Amish school girls and wounded eight more. The gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, then took his own life, leaving behind a widow and three young children.
Innocent lives have been taken senselessly, again due to gun violence. God weeps for his children who were the victims of this act of handgun violence, for their families, and for all of us, as we are all victims of these senseless violent acts.
United Methodists immediately responded to the incident, trying to assist the victims’ families and others grieving in the shocked community of Paradise, Pennsylvania. I give thanks for these laypersons and pastors, including the Rev. Jim Todd, superintendent for the Southwest District in Lancaster County, who, as members of the Body of Christ, shared God’s love with a hurting world.
I urge you to commit to pray in your communities, in your churches, and in your personal daily prayers:
Pray for the families of the Amish girls who were killed and who were wounded, and for the family of Charles Carl Roberts.
Pray fervently for an end to gun violence in the town of Paradise, in the City of Philadelphia, in whole region, and throughout the world.
Pray for our elected leaders who are responsible for the laws that will keep the peace, and for public servants who maintain the peace here and abroad.
Pray for peace and for the restoration of God’s Kingdom on earth.
Yours in Christ,
Marcus Matthews, Bishop of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of The United Methodist Church
# posted by Spring City UMC @ 8:40 AM 
