Quote from Lowell Michelson, senior pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church where Dr. Tiller was killed last Sunday:
“I have prayed for [Scott Roeder the alleged killer]. I don’t know that everyone is able to pray for him right now. I don’t know about human forgiveness and if and when that would ever come from some of the folks who have been most deeply hurt by this.
… [The counseling we’ve brought in from crisis intervention experts is] certainly not going to wash the issue away, but it will begin to help us voice some of the things that we’re wrestling with, and then turn our sights to healing and recovery and hope.
… It’s just encouraging to know that we’re not alone as we try to do this. One of the things, as people of faith, that is so great is to know that in those times when you’re struggling, there’s so many folks that are offering to carry you along. … [This Sunday], we’ll gather for worship this weekend and sing songs and say prayers and hear Scripture and savor the promises of God, as we always do.” —[kansascity.com, 6/3/09; AP 6/4/09]
Response: Lost in the midst of all the headlines and furor over the killing of Dr. Tiller and all the political responses is the horrible fact that it was done in a church that was filled with worshipers at the time of the shooting. Put yourself in the place of those attending church that day at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, the memories of the sights and sounds of that occasion will not be soon forgotten.
It is a time of healing for that church and a time for us to remember all of those folks including the church leaders in our prayers.