wfn.org | United Methodist Respond to Shooting

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (491
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Note 490 by UMNS on Dec. 4, 1997 at 16:33 Eastern (4939 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Green						    678(10-71B){490}
	    Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470			   Dec. 4, 1997

United Methodists involved in giving care 
to shocked Kentucky community

by Cathy Farmer*

	WEST PADUCAH, Ky. (UMNS) -- "I don’t hate him, and you shouldn’t either."
	That was the message sent to a shocked and solemn group of students, teachers
and counselors gathered in the Heath High School lobby, here where six girls
and two boys were shot Dec. 1 by a fellow student. 
The pronouncement came from the hospital bed of a girl who will never walk
again -– a girl who was shot in the back as she stood with eyes closed,
praying.
On that day, 14-year-old Michael Carneal walked into the high school and
opened fire during a prayer service, killing three. 
	"The prayer meeting the day after the shooting was uniquely positive," said
the Rev. Ken Stewart, pastor of the Kevil and New Liberty United Methodist
churches and one of the people counseling the teachers in the aftermath of the
tragedy.
	"Those kids really held onto their faith," he said. "All the counselors were
overwhelmed by their willingness to seek Christ and be healed by Christ. They
said they wanted to return love for hate."
	The bullet holes in the walls were covered with student-made posters that
said "We forgive you, Michael." The floor was strewn with flowers, the tables
with messages and pictures.
	"I don’t think anyone could realize how this has struck at the heart of the
community," said the Rev. Barry Scott, pastor of Concord United Methodist
Church. "We felt relatively safe here, in a rural area. This was a blow to
that innocence."
	The Rev. Roger Penn, pastor of McKendree United Methodist Church, talked
about Jessica, a young girl who isn’t a formal member of the church but
occasionally attends. "She was in the school prayer circle that morning," he
said. "Nicole (one of the girls who died) fell in her lap when she was shot.
She was just able to tell Jessica that she loved her. Then the ambulance
came."
	Nicole Hadley, 14, was the grandaughter of the Rev. Charles Hadley, pastor of
Grace and Hyde Park United Methodist churches, Wichita, Kan. And his wife Jan.
Both are involved in the national leadership of the United Methodist Marriage
Encounter.
	Tommy Fletcher, a Heath teacher and coach, is a Concord member. He rushed
into the lobby in time to gather into his arms one the girls who had been shot
and died later that night. 
	Several United Methodist pastors were among those who counseled with the
students and teachers at Heath High School. 
	The Rev. Sandra Leatherwood, associate pastor at Broadway, spent the day at
the hospital with the family of one of the girls who later died. She talked to
some of the attending doctors.
	"Several of the physicians who performed emergency surgery on the wounded
children are members of Broadway," she said. "This has hit them hard. Two of
them have daughters in their early teens, just like the victims. They were
exhausted by their efforts to save their lives."
	"The stark reality for me," she said, "is that we tend to forget the doctors,
nurses, the teachers and the counselors who are charged with giving care. They
also need our support."
	There are two crisis teams on site -- a county team and a state team. Both
are comprised of trained counselors and social workers. In addition, the
Paducah District of the United Methodist Church, instituted a Crisis Team for
Ministry, led by the Rev. Richard Flick, pastor of the Oakland-Palma-Charge.
	"Dick is uniquely qualified to lead the team," said the Rev. David Hilliard,
Paducah district superintendent. "He was a Navy captain with 26 chaplains
reporting to him. He’s a 25-year veteran who’s seen it all. He’s prayed with
the boys before battle, he’s baptized them and he’s buried them."
	Flick led a community-wide open forum at Palestine United Methodist Church
three days after the shooting.
	"We won’t try to answer questions like why it happened," Flick said the day
before the forum. "The forum will be to facilitate the message of the church:
There is a God here, who loves, cares and suffers when we suffer. We know that
if we allow it, God will provide healing. The healing won’t come from us, it
comes from God."
	The Rev. Kenny Locke, pastor of the Palestine church, spent two days talking
with the children at the middle school.
	"They didn’t feel reassured that it wouldn’t happen again," he said. "We
tried to make them feel as safe as possible, but the sad reality is that some
of them are dealing with other things in their lives as well.
	"One child’s father and uncle committed suicide. He doesn’t feel safe at home
and now he doesn’t feel safe at school either.
	"Most people feel as if they’re in a nightmare and would like to wake up—but
they know they won’t."
# # #
	*Farmer is the editor of the Memphis, Tenn. Conference edition of the United
Methodist Reporter.

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