As the snow falls quietly around Abundant Life Christian School and City Church in Madison, Wisconsin small groups of people huddle together. In some ways, it may seem like just another December day. But the long line of yellow sheriff’s department tape tells a different story.
On Monday, a 15-year-old student brought a gun to the school, where she shot classmates and a teacher. The attack claimed two lives and left six others wounded (including two who remain in critical condition). The teenager also took her own life.
In the midst of “the most wonderful time of the year,” as the old Christmas tune goes, this community is instead trying to pick up of the pieces of so many broken lives.
Ministering to Grieving Hearts
Jason and Damaris Scalzi are no strangers to trauma. They’ve faced it in their family, and they’ve faced it in ministry, as they’ve led teams of Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains into places struggling with tragedy. It’s equipped them to bring hope in times of great sorrow, which is what they stepped into this week in Wisconsin’s capitol city.
Despite the grief associated with the shooting—so sudden and violent—the Scalzis have noticed that the response from the church and school has been very different than what they’ve seen elsewhere. The hope of Christ is evident on every front. Less than 36 hours after the attack, City Church was packed by an overflow crowd of hundreds of people for a night of prayer and worship.
“Just to hear and to see from the lead pastor down to the receptionist of their love for God, love for their community, and just working through this process,” Jason said, “allowing themselves to be healed by the Lord; not to rush the process but being open to the Lord to heal them of any anger, resentment, blaming. It was such a beautiful thing to witness..
“The church prayer meeting was a culmination of all those things: being silent before the Lord, being contrite and broken before God, and then proclaiming how good God is. To experience that and watch that was amazing.”
Damaris added, “We’ve responded to shooting deployments, mass shootings, officer-involved shootings, but I’ve never experienced a service open to the community by a church body like this. The peace, the Biblical foundation, the prayer and Scripture being read, the worship—that community really got a display of who Christ is through a crisis.”
The pastor of City Church shared the story of Job, a fitting passage during this time of great grief. Damaris summarized: “Job’s friends sat in silence during Job’s suffering, and then when they finally took advantage of speaking to Job, everything they were saying was completely wrong. You can be sincere in your speaking and sharing, and be completely wrong.
“The pastor was calling the church to be careful with how we find meaning or reason or blame during this time because we’re not going to have all the answers this side of Heaven. It’s not our job to find reasons or answers. It’s our obligation to lean on Christ and allow Him to lead us through suffering so that we can be healed.”
‘The Only Answer for Madison Is Jesus Christ’
Even as the attention on this small school fades, the need for prayer remains great.
“Pray for the victims with the physical scars. There are two children who are still fighting for their life. They need a miracle. Pray for them. Pray for those who are suffering from emotional and spiritual scars, that God would bring healing to them,” said Jason.
“And then pray for this community. Pray for the city of Madison. It’s a tough area that has a lot of struggles like other major cities, and the only answer for Madison is Jesus Christ. The local church is doing a great work here, so pray for the local church to continue to be the hands and feet of Christ and let their light shine.”
