“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
Beloved Community,
In just one week, our nation has been rocked by numerous acts of violence. At Utah Valley University, Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking on stage. At Evergreen High School in Colorado, students once again faced the horror of gunfire in their classrooms—two critically wounded, with another life already lost. At the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland, confusion during a lockdown turned tragic, leaving a midshipman injured.
Each story is different, but collectively they reveal a heartbreaking reality: violence has become the norm in America.
I did not agree with Charlie Kirk’s politics or words, which often caused division rather than unity. But I must say this clearly: his life was sacred, and his death is a tragedy. Violence is never the answer. No one—whether conservative, progressive, or otherwise—should have to live under the threat of violence. My heart goes out to his young family, who now have to bear the unbearable weight of this loss. May they find comfort, compassion, and support from their community in the days to come.
At Evergreen High School, my heart breaks for parents and students whose lives will never be the same. Schools should be sanctuaries of safety and growth, not battlegrounds of fear. And the Naval Academy reminds us how even unintended violence is born out of a climate of fear and mistrust that grips our nation.
I believe that gun violence is real, human rights are real, and none of us should have to live in fear when we gather for school, worship, or public life. Thoughts and prayers matter, but they are not enough. Prayer must lead to action, faith must lead to courage, and love must drive us to demand a different future.
As United Methodists, our Social Principles urge us to confront gun violence and to work for communities of peace. Today, that call feels more urgent than ever.
If we call ourselves the Body of Christ, we must embody his presence: bringing compassion to places of pain, courage to places of fear, and love to every part of our daily lives.
Like Mary Magdalene at the tomb, our calling is to show up. Like Ruth with Naomi, we show up in solidarity, saying to one another, “Where you go, I will go." Like the Samaritan on the roadside, we show up with compassion that crosses every divide. To show up means naming the darkness for what it is, weeping with those who weep, and listening for the voice of Christ even in the shadows of despair. Showing up will not end all violence, but it does tell the truth: that we will not let evil have the last word.
So let us mourn with those who mourn. Let us grieve with honesty and righteous anger. But let us also act—with courage, with justice, with compassion—to end the epidemic of violence and build a society where legacies are rooted in love, in mercy, and in peace.
As one friend wrote: 'We don’t have to share beliefs to share humanity. We don’t have to see eye to eye to stand heart to heart.' May this be our path forward.
And let us be a people who, even as we stand at the tombs of our neighbors, still dare to proclaim Alleluia. Not as cheap optimism, but as defiance. A declaration that violence will not define us, that love will rise again, and that Christ still calls each of us by name.
In Christ, who is our peace,
Rev. Michael Bynum