Clergy blocked from helping Boston bomb victims

From Oregon-

The heart-wrenching photographs taken in the moments after the Boston Marathon bombings show the blue-and-yellow jackets of volunteers, police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical technicians, even a three-foot-high blue M&M. Conspicuously absent are any clerical collars or images of pastoral care.

This was not for lack of proximity. Close to the bombing site are Trinity Episcopal Church, Old South Church and St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, all on Boylston Street. When the priests at St. Clement’s, three blocks away, heard the explosions, they gathered sacramental oils and hurried to the scene in hopes of anointing the injured and, if necessary, administering last rites, the final of seven Catholic sacraments. But the priests, who belong to the order Oblates of the Virgin Mary, weren’t allowed at the scene.

The Rev. John Wykes, director of the St. Francis Chapel at Boston’s soaring Prudential Center, and the Rev. Tom Carzon, rector of Our Lady of Grace Seminary, were among the priests who were turned away right after the bombings. It was jarring for Father Wykes, who, as a hospital chaplain in Illinois a decade ago, was never denied access to crime or accident scenes.

“I was allowed to go anywhere. In Boston, I don’t have that access,” he says.

More here-


http://oregonfaithreport.com/2013/04/clergy-blocked-from-helping-boston-bomb-victims/

Boston-area Episcopalians gather for prayer, offer solace to neighbors

From ENS-

They all may not have been able to get to their churches, but in the hours after the second of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings was captured April 19, Episcopalians in the Boston area continued to support each other and their neighbors.

Police captured Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, as he holed up in a boat parked in a backyard just blocks away from Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown, Massachusetts. He was weakened by a gunshot wound after fleeing on foot from an overnight shootout with police that left 200 spent rounds behind.

The Rev. Amy McCreath, Good Shepherd’s priest-in-charge, e-mailed her congregation shortly after the capture, calling the capture a “great gift.”

“Your vestry met by conference call while events unfolded tonight, praying for all of you, for your children, and especially for our neighbors on Franklin Street,” she wrote.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/04/22/boston-area-episcopalians-gather-for-prayer-offer-solace-to-neighbors/

For Boston’s faithful, solace comes with a dose of solidarity

From The Times of Israel-

One example of inter-communal cooperation is the sharing of sacred space. On Sunday, Boston’s Trinity Church in the city’s Copley Square, near the site of the Monday bombing, was forced to relocate its Sunday services and found a willing host in nearby Temple Israel, a large Reform congregation barely 10 minutes’ drive from the church.

In a letter to his congregants, Trinity’s Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III
invited his congregants to “a Sunday adventure” at the synagogue.

“It is clear that we cannot rely on being able to worship in our beloved Trinity Church,” Lloyd wrote. “And so instead we are accepting the wonderful hospitality of Rabbi Ronne Friedman and the people of Temple Israel to worship in their beautiful sanctuary on Sunday morning.”

The letter took a decidedly optimistic tone. “It will be a fine
service,” Lloyd assured, “full of Easter joy and sober reflection, and
following it, we will have ample time in the coffee hour [to] catch up
after these arduous days.”

More here-

http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-bostons-faithful-solace-comes-with-a-dose-of-solidarity/

Hope and Light for Boston

From The Living Church-

Fewer than 24 hours after bombs wrought havoc on the Boston Marathon, the downtown Cathedral Church of St. Paul opened its doors for prayer and Eucharist in the heart of a heartbroken city.

“Being a church of the community, a place for the homeless, a place where people come to pray during the week … we knew we had to respond” to the bombings, said the Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris, Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts. “To a moment of great sorrow, we needed to provide some sense of hope and light.”

More than 100 worshipers turned out for the 12:15 p.m. vigil on Tuesday. Some were Episcopalians in town for the marathon. Others were Bostonians or visitors from various faith backgrounds. For all, it was a time to seek God — through silence, prayer, hymns, proclamation and sacrament — even as police searched for clues just steps away in what had become a cordoned-off, 15-block crime scene.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/hope-and-light-boston

Religious leaders call for unity and compassion in wake of bombing

From New Hampshire-

New Hampshire religious leaders this week urge their congregations to remember God's peace, healing and justice are profoundly more powerful than any terrorist bombs as they prayed for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings and their families.

"People have been talking about how easy it is for one act of evil to do so much harm, and is there anything we can do to fight it," said Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett of Temple Beth Abraham, a conservative congregation in Nashua.

"We have to believe that the power of our goodness is stronger than even that and . not become so distracted or demoralized that we would lose an opportunity to show goodness or love," Spira-Savett said Wednesday.

Citing Psalms 3, the Rev. Dr. Paul R. Berube of Grace Fellowship Church in Nashua reminded his congregation "to not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me."

Rather, Berube encouraged his congregation during a special prayer meeting Tuesday night to turn to God as their shield against violence and fear.

More here-

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130417/NEWS1002/130419099

Prayers for Victims in Boston

From The Living Church-

From the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

Gracious God, you walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death. We pray that the suffering and terrorized be surrounded by the incarnate presence of the crucified and risen one. May every human being be reminded of the precious gift of life you entered to share with us. May our hearts be pierced with compassion for those who suffer, and for those who have inflicted this violence, for your love is the only healing balm we know. May the dead be received into your enfolding arms, and may your friends show the grieving they are not alone as they walk this vale of tears. All this we pray in the name of the one who walked the road to Calvary.

From the Rt. Rev. Jacob Owensby, Bishop of Western Louisiana

The following is an initial pastoral letter to the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana and to anyone seeking a word of hope and consolation.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Like you I am reeling from the news coming from Boston. Innocent people have been killed and many more have been injured by bombs timed to explode as the Boston Marathon was coming to a close. First responders reacted with heroic speed, and now medical personnel apply their skilled hands to saving and healing those who survived. Families, friends, the country, and much of the world watch and pray tonight.

Let us join them in prayer. Prayers for those who have entered into eternal life and for those fighting to recover. Prayers for the first responders and medical teams. Prayers for those who wait anxiously for word that their loved one is okay. Prayers for those whose hearts are rent by grief.

Earlier today I shared prayers on Facebook from Unapologetically Episcopalian. I share these rich Anglican prayers with you now and ask you to join me in lifting them to the Lord:

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/prayers-victims-boston