Psalm 130:1: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.”

Newtown, Connecticut. These two words bring scenes of horror and heartache to us. How could something so tragic occur in an elementary school? Why did it happen? How can we prevent a mentally ill or an emotionally disturbed person from committing acts of violence?

We may never know the answers to those questions, but we can respond in prayer for the families of the twenty children, the principal, the school psychologist, and the teachers who lost their lives, and for the family of the mother who died at the hands of her own son.

We can pray for God to comfort those hurting people who will spend Christmas without their loved ones and may have to return Christmas gifts already purchased. We can pray for healing for them and their community.

We can cry to God for mercy and healing for the children who witnessed the trauma and survived. They’ve lost many friends and school staff.

A woman from another area called a store in Newtown and offered to pay for all the coffee sold that day. We can call King’s Breakfast & Lunch at 203-426-6881 or My Place Pizza at 203-270-7061 to buy a meal for the people in Newtown.

We can give through the United Way of Western Connecticut online at http://newtown.uwwesternct.org or mail check donations to Sandy Hook School Support Fund, c/o Newtown Savings Bank, 39 Main Street, Newtown, CT 06470.

We can donate money to the Newtown Parent Connection at https://www.newtownparentconnection.org. The Newtown Parent Connection offers substance abuse counseling and grief counseling. Many additional counselors will be needed in this crisis.

Perhaps your church or organization can think of other ways to show the community of Newtown that we love them and care about them.

God, out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD, for those in Newtown. Amen.

Application: What specific thing will you do this week for the people of Newtown?

Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega December 17, 2012