A Word from Your Pastor - January 19

Dear Parishioners:

This week, I received some sad news about a cousin of mine.  You may have heard the report of the couple found dead in Crafton (Pittsburgh), PA, identified as a murder-suicide.  I am sorry to say that it was about my cousin Amy Suehr Gorsuch, who had gone to visit her estranged husband Ricky.  She was living at her father’s home with their three daughters.  When she did not return, her father dropped the girls off at school and went to the house where he found the couple dead.

 

The family asked me to celebrate the funeral (Saturday, January 18).  It is among the saddest experiences of my life to do this.  There are no words that can address the grief and the horror about what has happened.  I ask for your prayers, especially for the little girls who have lost both their parents.

Just the same day as I received this news about members of my family, I was looking at the Dispatch and noticing all the stories of violence that are told.  There are accounts of domestic violence, children harming or killing children in schools, international incidents of rape and other such tragedies.  My heart aches for all who have had to face these struggles.  They speak to me of the need the world has for the message of the Gospel.  The only thing that gets me through such experiences, whether in my own family or in my contact with others, is Faith.  Only Faith tells us that there is something beyond what this world has to offer.  The senseless tragedies do not have the last word.  God Himself offers us consolation and strength.  Our call is to trust in Him and to witness His Love and Mercy to the world.

Be sure that you and your concerns are in my heart.  I treasure the bond we share as Pastor and Flock.  I also trust in your prayers for me and for those who are dear to me. 

Life is precious, a gift from God, and we are called to cherish it in this world in hope of the next.  May we all know the dignity of every human life, and may all those we encounter see at work in us the Love of the God Who shares His Life with us.