Community
The word community is used alot at Messiah College. Community is what we at Messiah are “created and called for.” It’s the word that naturally follows “campus” when describing the body of students, faculty, and staff. Most students would probably tell you that they’re tired of hearing the word community. Yet, I can think of no better word to describe the quasi-family that is Messiah College.
Details of the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech continue to unfold. They are unsettling. The events of yesterday’s rampage make me uneasy. The news mesmerizes me and makes me mad. I hate the talking heads, the conjecture presented as fact, and the arrogance that comes with hindsight. I worry for the safety of college campuses nationwide, including the one that I consider my community. And, I wonder how people without faith can cope with such overwhelming grief.
As Messiah has faced public relations challenges in the last few weeks, as we have prepared for a visit by the gay rights activists of Equality Ride, and as we, too, have watched in horror the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I’m consistently reminded of one of my favorite passages in the Bible. From Lamentations, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Indeed, great is His faithfulness.
May comfort and peace that can only come from God flood the entire Virginia Tech community.