A Word from Bishop Thomas Brown in the wake of the mass shooting in Lewiston

...our beloved community of Lewiston joined the long and sorrowful list of cities like Uvalde, Buffalo, Parkland, Newtown, Las Vegas, Orlando, Blacksburg and Sutherland Springs that have been shattered by the evil of a mass shooting.  As Governor Mills said ... “This city did not deserve this terrible assault on its citizens, on its peace of mind, on its sense of security. No city does. No state. No people.”

We are right to rage against the violence that has come to Lewiston and grieve our neighbors who have died and been wounded. Yet, as Christians, we must also turn our hearts toward the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, remembering that death is never the final word. We must redouble our commitment to work against the culture of violence that ensnares us and holds us captive. We must seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we pursue a future filled with reconciliation and harmony and refuse to let the evil of gun violence extinguish our commitment to the common good.