Beacon Newsletter - Spring 2007

Reflections

The morning after the shooting at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia the Lighthouse Ministries’ staff and volunteers gathered for prayer. We gather to reflect on events in our lives and special concerns we have for others, especially the participants who seek assistance with their basic needs. But on that particular morning we were all struggling with the news continuing to flow from Blacksburg. I had heard a commentator on the radio say, “The people of Blacksburg awaken with the memory of the events of the day before hanging over them.” I told the group what I had heard, then commented, “In all likelihood no one slept in Blacksburg last night.” The reflection around the prayer circle came as nodding of heads in agreement. Emotionally, we all were disturbed that such violence could take place anywhere, especially at a place where young people should feel safe to explore their options as they are moving into adulthood.

I believe that one of the most important things we do at Lighthouse Ministries is listen to people and hear their hurts. Sure, our interviewers need to get the facts about a bill or need, but listening to the hurt behind the need is more important. So much of our lives are bound up in rushing from place to place and meeting deadlines we forget the people we encounter might need a kind word or listening ear. Our goal is to have the right number of volunteers on interviewing days that they don’t have to rush through interviews in order for everyone to be seen. I have seen interviews take as much as an hour. Most of that hour was the volunteer listing to a participant talk about their situation. To me, that volunteer was putting her faith into action without doing anything but listening.

Our prayers that morning were for all the people affected by the shooting, including those who had come to Lighthouse Ministries seeking assistance, and for ourselves. In the days following we have seen many acts of caring and reaching out at Virginia Tech, as we do after other tragic events. I will continue to pray for those who have lost love ones and friends at the school and for their recovery. I pray for the family of the young man who became so hopeless he could only respond to his despair by taking lives; his and others. I pray for our country and for churches to find the courage to build a society where children and youth know hope that brings light in times of despair. As my future daughter-in-law said today, “Seung-Hui Cho was an American, raised in this society, like those of us with European heritage who grew up in this country.”

Dr. J. Austin Watson, Executive Director

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