Blessed are those who mourn: A call to action
News –
Today, Rev. Ashley Harness and First U Board President Marc Gorelick spoke at the Minnesota State Capitol at the invitation of Moms Demand Action. A coalition that includes faith communities like ours is amplifying the call by Gov. Walz for a special legislative session to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Will you take action to keep our children—and all of us—safe from gun violence? The action was featured in an article in the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Out of love for our children, we can’t let them down, and we can’t let our elected officials off the hook until they ban assault weapons. – Marc Gorelick, First U Board President, speaking at the MN State Capitol
Watch Rev. Ashley’s Remarks:
Read Rev. Ashley’s Remarks:
Good afternoon. My name is Rev. Ashley Harness, I use she/her pronouns, and I’m an Assistant Minister at First Universalist Church in Minneapolis. I’m here today for my children—the ones I’m raising in my own home and the ones who are all of our children who have been killed by assault rifles.
I’m here because we have some job confusion between you and me, elected officials. My job as a pastor is to have thoughts and prayers. Your job is to make policy change, to ban automatic weapons before any more of our babies are crucified for going to school.
So let me do my job now, let me pray with some Beatitudes I updated from one of my teachers, Jesus.
Will you join me in prayer?
Blessed are those who mourn:
Blessed are the families of Fletcher and Harper as they prepare to bury their beloveds.
Blessed are the families of all who died and all who were injured in the TWO mass shootings last week in Minnesota, those whose names we know and those whose names were buried by racism.
For they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek and merciful:
Blessed are the parents who change bullet wound dressings after brushing teeth at bedtime now.
Blessed are the families who disabled door bells because the sound of pizza delivery triggers trauma meltdowns.
Blessed are the medical teams who extracted bullets from children who threw their bodies over other children to protect them.
Blessed are the children who cannot sleep because they know deep down their grown ups are lying when we promise them they are safe at their school.
Blessed are the therapists and teachers who showed up to work to love kids well.
Blessed are the neighbors who mowed other people’s lawns, washed other people’s dishes, cooked other people’s comfort food so those other people could sit in hospital rooms with their children.
For they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
Blessed are the parents who demand bans on assault rifles.
Blessed are the teachers who demand bans on assault rifles.
Blessed are the doctors who demand bans on assault rifles.
Blessed are the lawmakers who demand bans on assault rifles.
Blessed are the children who demand bans on assault rifles.
For they will be called children of God.
But woe to you who are rich,
Woe to you who profit from gun manufacturing and sales.
Woe to you who profit from opposing the assault weapons bans that could have kept our children alive.
Woe to you who profit from fear—by scapegoating our transgender beloveds when they are only responsible for one tenth of one percent of mass shootings.
For you have received your consolation already.
May it be so. May we make it so. Amen.
I have prayed. I have done my job. Now elected officials, please go do your job and ban assault weapons.