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U.S. NEWS

School Shooting

A teenage student and a teacher were killed Monday in a shooting at a private K-12 Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. At least six others were injured. Two of those are still fighting life-threatening injuries.

According to local officials, a 15-year-old student at Abundant Life Christian School opened fire during a study hall period. A second-grade teacher called 911 at 10:57 a.m. Police arrived at the school within four minutes. They found the shooter seriously wounded, apparently from shooting herself. She was rushed to the hospital but died on the way. 

They are still working to understand the “combination of factors” that motivated the shooter. People on social media claimed the shooter left a “manifesto,” but police have not confirmed it. 

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people honored victims with a candlelight vigil. Victims’ names have not yet been released.

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RESPONDWe often feel helpless in the face of incredible tragedy. Scripture encourages us to mourn, to pray, and to love with action. Pray that the “God of all comfort” would move in power in Madison (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

“Grant, O Lord, to all who are bereaved the spirit of faith and courage, that they may have strength to meet the days to come with steadfastness and patience; not sorrowing as those without hope, but in thankful remembrance of your great goodness, and in the joyful expectation of eternal life with all who love you.” 
Book of Common Prayer, page 264

Ask your kids what they have already heard about this story.
Talk through what they know and how it makes them feel. 

Fear and anxiety are a reasonable response to a tragedy that strikes so close to home. Christians don’t have to minimize the darkness in our world or pretend it’s not there. As disciplers of the kids in your life, you have an opportunity to address that fear with the truth of the gospel, teaching them to respond to really hard things with a posture of faith.

What gospel lesson can be taught through this story?
What to do with fear. 

The Psalms are full of raw emotions—of big feelings taken directly to God. In Psalm 56, David starts in a place of deeply rattling fear and ends his prayer with confidence and thanksgiving. What happens in between to change his heart?

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4 ESV). 

David put his trust in the Lord. Specifically, he remembered promises from Scripture, things like God’s knowledge of the details of his life (56:8), the justice that’s coming (56:7, 9), and the light that will beat darkness in the future (56:13). When we’re afraid, we can bring our big fear directly to God and speak the truth of his word to ourselves and one another.

• Pray through Psalm 139 with your kids. Use these prayers at breakfast or in the car when you feel anxious about going to school.

• Memorize Psalm 56:3-4, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” (ESV).

• Pray for the students who are fighting for their lives, for the victims’ families (including the shooter’s family), and for all who feel paralyzed by fear.

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