when national news becomes personal

we had a great weekend that i was very excited to blog about, until this happened:

yesterday, a unitarian universalist church in tennessee was the target of a deranged conservative. it's been all over the news, so i will only briefly state the facts here. the horrible man, jim adkisson, entered the sanctuary and fired into the congregation who had gathered for sunday services and a children's production of 'annie'.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/28/usa

why? because our religion is a liberal religion. because we fight for the rights of everyone, including gays. because we teach our children about social justice and try to make the world safer for everyone. because we don't think we have all the answers, and draw our personal faiths from many sources.

these are the reasons why colin and i became UU's ourselves, and are raising liam in this faith as well. and these are the reasons two people were killed and seven more were injured, some critically. as soon as i saw the news yesterday, i knew that this would be why the congregation was targeted. the motive wasn't actually released until today, but i think anyone who knows about our faith would have known instantly because it is so controversial. you know, to truly believe everyone has 'inherent worth and dignity,' including gays and women. *gasp*

it's hard to think about the fact that we live in a very conservative town without a shortage of it's own crazies (ie = fred phelps and family). my thoughts are with the families in tennessee, because i know it could have been us. it could have been any one of our friends at fellowship. and even though we don't know them, they were singled out by this madman simply for the faith we share.

i'll let my frivolous blogging about my seemingly charmed life wait for another day.