There is a communal clergy thread right now processing a faith response to the active shooter hoax that put the Ashland schools and hospital into lockdown on October 20. Know that if you were terrorized or traumatized by this day, you are not alone. There were at least three communities, including Ashland, which were targeted on this one day alone.
Here and elsewhere, people are asking why would someone do this? While answers are scarce, we know that people who sow fear often do so to create mistrust and division. They know the power of hope and kinship and work to find the most terrifying way to dampen these down. It could be someone who believes that if people stop believing in hope, they will be apathetic and won’t vote or join movements to make change.
So, I am doubling down on hope and resisting the narrative that says that schools and hospitals in lockdown are part of a normal reality. While there isn’t a communal event planned at this time, area clergy are holding space in their congregations and fellowships, acknowledging this happened, naming the anxiety and terrors it evokes, and taking time to name all those who work hard, day in and day out, to keep communities safe and well.
Please know that if you would like to meet for prayer or processing I am available. As we explored at the All-Poetry Service this year, peace is not the absence of violence, but a very precious and hard-earned outcome of being in community together, of staying in communication, and acting with compassion.
In peace, in hope, in solidarity, Stacy