Faith leaders lead community in grieving after Uvalde shooting - 0 views
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On Tuesday, a gunman entered the elementary school and killed 21 people — 19 of them students — in Uvalde, Texas. Two weeks before in Buffalo, a gunman shot and killed 10 people — most of whom were Black — in a racist massacre.
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“It’s very hard for people to even talk about their grief right now,” said Thomson. “When we don’t know what to do, we come together as a community.”
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The Rev. Mark Tyler of Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church shared with his congregation on Sunday that people are “getting sick” of watching people continue to die in mass shootings while nothing is done to change the status quo. According to Tyler, healing is found when feelings are shared and heard.
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“A grieving process allows us to heal. When we deny that process, that’s when the numbness sets in. Then beyond that we start feeling symptoms of anxiety, and beyond that — depression,” said Whaley-Perkins. “So it’s really important for people who are vulnerable or have previous traumas that you don’t wait to see if it’s going to go away. Healing is extraordinarily important.”AdvertisementAccording to Whaley-Perkins, a community should be a group of people that provide safety, can be trusted, and where one can be vulnerable with their feelings. For many in Philadelphia, where they practice their faith is also where communities resides.
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“Unless we change fundamentally how we educate our society, unfortunately people will still find a way to do these things,” said Shemtov. “We are all different — but we were all created by God with a purpose. Everybody has to start where they can start. If you’re not in the position to make national or local change, we can all change how we treat ou
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As the country reckons with how to move forward, interfaith leaders in Philadelphia look to balance healing with collective action. To Chad Dion Lassiter, who is a national race relations expert and executive director of Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, taking care of oneself, of one’s community, and finding the motivation to take action are made possible by taking the healing process seriously.