This week, Pastor Lauren and I joined with the rest of the clergy in the Carondelet neighborhood to host a Community Prayer Vigil for the child victims of gun violence in St. Louis. Before that night 22 teens and children under 18 had become victims of gun violence in 2019 in our city.

Literally while we were gathered in prayer and sharing, just three miles away, another 6-year-old was killed in an act of gun violence. To add to that bitterness, just this morning a 3-year-old boy was shot and later died at the hospital. That means that a gun has killed 24 kids this year in St. Louis.

I grew up in the country...in the foothills (or as we would have said "footheels") of Tennessee's Appalachian Mountains. There, guns were a part of life. My family had guns, I was taught to use those guns safely even at a young age, and I honestly gave it very little thought. So, I am not writing today about guns, the personal freedom to own guns, or the crazy politics of our country. I am writing about the universal right to life that everyone of us--and especially our kiddos--have.

In Matthew 19, Jesus moves the adults aside and orders that the children be brought to him. He recognized the importance of children and the collective responsibility every person has to protect them. It sounds kind of funny to say, but Jesus was a Mama Bear! Don't mess with his kiddos, or he will protect them like a Mama Bear!

Even though you may not be the mama or daddy to any of the kids in our city who have been shot, you can be their Mama Bear. You can take a stand to say this must be stopped. Our kids must be kept safe.

At our Prayer Vigil we encouraged everyone to wear an orange ribbon to take a stand for the children in our community. Orange is the official color that calls for an end for gun violence. You can wear an orange ribbon or any orange clothing as one small way to take your stand. On SATURDAY (remember service is moved this weekend), I will be wearing an orange stole as a symbol that our church is lifting up every one of these 24 children and their families in prayer. Let us stand with Jesus...for the kids...for life.