June 23, 2026

Dear Friends,

The Grace of the risen Christ be with you.  I was heartbroken to hear of the shooting in your own hometown, in our own Diocese. I grieve for deaths of Cody and for Robert and for their families and friends.  I am grateful for the courage of the responders who moved people out of harm’s way and shielded those inside the library. With every new detail the loss seems more real.

Yet, as I held sorrow and anger at the news, I felt the sure knowledge about what would be happening at St John’s – God’s people would be gathering to pray.  Inviting others in: the faithful, the wondering, and the shaken, those from other congregations and faiths. Together we show up in a sacred place, one already soaked in prayer.  This is what the church does. And in these moments of grief, something holy always happens: the people of God are fed by God’s own presence in their midst.

We are fed spiritually and emotionally when we gather not because another shooting is ok, it is not.  It is wholly unacceptable.  But, when God’s people are wandering in the wilderness, God sends them manna. We indeed live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  We receive that word, in scripture, in the presence of one another, in shared praying, in shared tears, and in silence.  May God bring healing to all of those in grieving – to the Library Staff, to the families of Cody and Robert, and for the shooter and his family, as well.

Even now, you will see hope renewed – not because it rises from our own strength, but from the source of hope himself: the one who was laid in a grave, rose on the third day, found his disciples as he walked the road to Emmaus, Jesus Christ.   God’s love and hope will not stay still. Even now, it is already on the move.

Bishop Deon Johnson of Missouri has authored this collect and litany for use in the wake of gun violence:

We stand together in hope. We stand together in faith. We stand together in love. We stand individually as ambassadors of hope, vessels of faith, and sentinels of love.  We stand as a community committed to making no peace with gun violence. We pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to inflame and enkindle our lives, our churches, our communities, our cities, and our nation with a passion for lasting peace; through Jesus Christ the Author of Peace. Amen.

Found on Bishopsagainstgunviolence.org

Please join us tonight at 7 pm at St. John’s Chico for a Vigil service.

St. John’s Chico | 435 Chestnut Street Chico, CA 95928