wfn.org | Clergy answer call for help after Santee shooting

[ENS@ecunet.org]

2001-57

Clergy answer call for help after Santee shooting

by William Dopp

     (ENS) Clergy from around the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego joined trained 
Red Cross chaplains and members of the Santee Ministers Association in providing 
prayer and pastoral support for students of Santana High School in Santee, 
California, after the tragic shooting at the school on March 5.

     First on the scene was the Rev. Wayne Sanders of the Church of the Good 
Samaritan, San Diego. He was on call for the Red Cross as a chaplain. Sanders and 
others trained by the Red Cross met with students in the first few hours of the 
tragedy. "Only Red Cross-trained chaplains were allowed past a certain point 
because the authorities require pastors who know what they are doing, " Sanders 
said. 

     At first, Sanders said, the clergy met with people at a nearby Taco Bell. 
Later in the day, Sanders worked from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which 
served as a Red Cross center. "I was so pleased that Christian churches opened 
their doors in this emergency," Sanders remarked.

     More than 20 local clergy met with hundreds of students and others, 
including many parents, at Sonrise Community Church in Santee. The Sonrise 
facility served as the ecumenical center for pastoral care for the city, and a 
community memorial service was held there.

     The Rev. Jack Wehrs of St. Columba's in Santee was out of town when the 
shooting happened, but returned the next day and began calling parishioners. No 
members of St. Columba's were victims, but several students in the congregation 
knew victims personally.

     "Our prayers are with those who have lost a loved one," said Bishop Gethin 
Hughes. "We pray for all the people of Santee who will struggle with grief over 
this tragedy." Members of the bishop's office contacted the Santee parish 
immediately to offer their help.

     In San Diego, St. Paul's Cathedral held a citywide public ecumenical 
candlelight vigil and prayer service on Thursday, March 8. Candy and Greg Mulkey, 
diocesan youth ministers, joined with the cathedral clergy staff in being 
available for consultation and pastoral care. The Rev. Tony Barron, who was on 
the scene as a crisis consultant shortly after the shooting, offered staff 
members from his firm, the Barron Center, which specializes in school violence 
issues.

--The Rev. Canon William Dopp is communications officer for the Diocese of San 
Diego.