[Diocese of Virginia] I write to you from the Fall Meeting of the House of Bishops. I know that all of us as the Diocese of Virginia remain very mindful of the tragic shootings at the Washington Navy Yard one week ago today, and I join you in the closest and most heartfelt prayers we can offer. We pray for those who were slain; may they rest in peace and rise in glory. We pray for those who were wounded; may they be restored to fullness of health. We pray for God’s grace and peace to embrace their families, friends and coworkers.

The Virginia connections to this tragedy are strong. Indeed, some of those lost lived in our midst – friends and neighbors to those in our community of faith. Perhaps that’s why the numbing pain of these losses seems so powerful.

As services honoring these men and women were held in Virginia and elsewhere, we were reminded of the terrible toll of violence in our society. There will be time later to discuss anew what we as caring Christians can do to help stop the scourge of killings that so sadly distinguishes our nation. Undoubtedly, there will be spirited debates on which proposed solutions offer the best chance of success. All I can say at this time is that yet again we see the personal toll and the social havoc visited upon us all by this epidemic of gun violence. As the Church, we do not have the luxury of remaining silent or on the sidelines of this crisis.

What I pray we all can agree on is that we, as Christians committed to peace, justice and reconciliation, must continue to do everything within our means to help end the seemingly endless violence. May God have mercy on us all, and may the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit enable and ennoble us to be who we were created to be for one another.

The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston
Bishop