How Should We Respond to a Community Tragedy?

The mass shooting that occurred at a theatre in Aurora, Colorado, has once again reawakened societal fears, invaded the psyche of our nation and sparked another round of political debate. For Coloradans memories and feelings associated with the Columbine High School shootings in 1999 and the YWAM and New Life Church shootings in 2007 instantly came flooding back. Our state has once again been rocked by the senseless murder of innocent lives and we are left with a gaping range of emotions and cavernous questions.

In the days following the tragedy I have listened as people process the events and deal with their emotions. These things are never easy to do in a public way: news accounts, media interviews, Facebook posts, blog articles, Tweets, texts, and pulpits. It is never adequate for the masses and frequently just ignites more flares of emotion. But even understanding that, it was sad to see how quickly the conversation turns to fault finding and accusations. Blaming guns, guns control, the companies that made the guns, the companies that sold the guns, the theater, his parents, his family, his upbringing, the schools he attended, the political left, the political right, and the list grows as the public process goes on and people leverage the tragedy to promote their political and personal agendas.

Terror, tragedy and natural disasters are part of living in a decaying world and part of a broken humanity but my heart is moved by the suffering and grief, the senseless loss, and the traumatizing of young minds. But what do we do? What would we do if this happened in our community? As people of God we cannot afford to not be prepared to respond. We must determine what our response should be to a community tragedy. Here’s a starting point for our conversation.

Don’t hesitate. Do something! We can’t plan it all out. Figure it out on the fly.
Mourn with those that mourn. Listen and be a shoulder to cry on.
Know we can’t fix it and they don’t expect us to.
Pray for them and with them if they want it.
Allow people to express their emotion and voice their questions and fears.
Meet practical and physical needs.
Offer hope and relationship not answers and solutions.
Don’t offer spiritual platitudes or simplistic answers.
Offer tangible expressions of love for and commitment to our community.
Be there for the long-term need not just the immediate.
Don’t leverage their tragedy for our purposes or benefit.
Discern the needs of the larger community and collateral damage.
Work with other churches and agencies whenever possible.
Get the support we need to process our emotions while serving.