I love the phrase “while it was still dark” in John’s gospel (20:1-9) describing the predicament the women found themselves in on the way to the tomb. Yet, without an answer to the question, “who will move the enormous stone” the women kept walking.
In 1994, on Chicago’s west side, women at Bethel Lutheran Church asked: “Who will stop the gun violence that is causing children to lose their lives?” With the confidence that the question can and will be answered, the women began what would become Rachel’s Day, a Women of the ELCA awareness effort about gun violence against children, observed the first Sunday in May each year. Rachel’s Day is also a free resource based on Rachel who wept for her children and refused to be consoled after King Herod massacred the infants (Matthew 2:16-18).
Children in our congregations need to know that we have their backs. Keeping our children safe from guns is not and never has been an issue of gun rights, the second amendment or a political party. I am confident that women will take Rachel’s example to heart and raise their voices on behalf of our children.
This message is excerpted from “How can we keep our children safe?” by Valora Starr from the April 19, 2018, blog of the Women of the ELCA.
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