Presbyterians continue to respond to this week’s tragic shootings

Presbyterians continue to respond to this week’s tragic shootings in Blacksburg, Va. The incident has prompted a widespread outpouring of support and concern – particularly from college students, alumni, parents of students, grandparents; indeed, it seems that every community has one or two connections to the tragedy, so we are all connected in our sorrow.

I’ve been particularly moved by the response of the National Korean Presbyterian Council as they have called all Korean American congregations to have a vigil service to remember the victims and their families. In addition, they have committed to participate in a memorial fund or other means that might help the university community recover.

The General Assembly Council offices have made pulled together a comprehensive set of resources for pastors and other leaders as they prepare for Lord’s Day services this week:

The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program has gathered resources from several program areas. These resources are available at http://www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/virginiatech.htm . We are linking directly to resources to get people to the resources as quickly as we can. The Peacemaking Program will continue to add links to resources as they are developed.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has included links to prayers, litanies, hymns, and other resources on their web site also. See http://pcusa.org/pda/response/usa/va vatechshooting041707.htm .

A section entitled "What Can Your Congregation Do?" is included to help congregations think of ways to reach out to the community.

The General Assembly Council offices have received calls inquiring if a special account will be set up for this crisis. We have an account designated for pastoral support and care giving. This account helps to defray some of the expenses of National Response Team members and their work with PC(USA) pastors, presbyteries, and congregations that are struggling through disaster situations. This designated giving account is DR000177.

Donations may be sent through normal mission giving channels. Gifts by credit card can be made by calling PresbyTel at (800) 872 3283 or online at http://www.pcusa.org/pda/donate/accounts.htm. Checks payable to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can also be mailed directly to:

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Central Receiving Services
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202 1396

Please keep the people of the Virginia Tech community and those working to assist the survivors in your prayers.

Blessings,

Linda