Unitarian Universalists Respond to Knoxville Shooting Disaster
July 29, 2008
August 12
(posted at 12:00 noon)
On Sunday, August 10, 2008, in a full page advertisement in The New York Times, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) affirmed its commitment to having "our doors and our hearts" remain open following the tragic violence which erupted in Knoxville on July 27.
The UUA seeks to place ads in papers in addition to the Times which will invite readers to stand in solidarity with those affected by the Knoxville tragedy, honor those who lost their lives, extol the heroism of those who risked their lives to protect others, and proclaim what Unitarian Universalists (UUs) stand for as a people of faith. Donations in support of this effort are encouraged.
As of August 11, donations to the Knoxville Relief Fund—created in the aftermath of the July 27 tragedy—stands at 876 donors, with more than $64,900 received.
More than 600 messages of support and condolence have been posted to the "Supporting Our Friends in Knoxville" website. All messages will be shared with members of the Knoxville congregations; the site will remain open for comments until late August.
Extensive worship resources, edited by UU seminarian Tim Temerson, are available on the UUA website. This collection is now nearly complete. Any final contributions to the collection may be emailed by writing to websubmissions @ uua.org.
Updates to UUWorld.org coverage of the Knoxville tragedy continue. Two more stories are planned for publication on August 18.
August 4
(posted at 10:00 p.m.)
A new lead article on the rededication of the Tennessee Valley UU Church has been posted. The remarks of District Executive Annette Marquis, delivered at that service, have also been posted. A link to the video from the worship service is also available.
Updates to the UUWorld.org coverage on Knoxville's recovery process have also been made, including a prayer by Rev. Stephen Shick.
More worship resources, edited by seminarian Tim Temerson, have been posted.
A letter from the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, issued by President Rob Eller-Isaacs on behalf of the Executive Committee, has been released.
August 3
(posted at 10:00 p.m.)
The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church rededicated its sanctuary in a worship service held at 10:00 a.m. today. Participating in the service were Rev. Bruce Southworth, who grew up in TVUUC, former TVUUC ministers Rev. John Buehrens and Rev. Lynn Strauss, former religious educator Meghan Henry, current minister Rev. Chris Buice, current religious educator Brian Griffin, and Thomas Jefferson District Executive Annette Marquis. Read the Order of Service for today’s worship.
Rev. William G. Sinkford, who was in Knoxville earlier in the week, sent a message which was read by Annette Marquis. It said, in part: “The unbreakable spirit of the Knoxville Unitarian Universalist community has inspired the awe and respect of the entire world, and deservedly so. Because last week this sanctuary witnessed acts that were courageous, generous, and deeply compassionate. It is true that the crime was shockingly profane, but your responses were, and continue to be, deeply reverent. No murderer can take away what is sacred about this place, because your love has overpowered fear, just as your faith is helping you heal and move forward, together.
"It is the presence of gathered community that makes a place holy, and today the world is moved by your example. Your gift of courage is a blessing to us all.” Read Sinkford’s complete remarks.
A new feature on the UU Trauma Response Ministry, whose members were among the first responders to the Knoxville disaster, with members continuing to remain on the scene, has been posted.
There have been approximately 500 donations to the newly-created Knoxville Relief Fund in the several days of its existence. Your gifts will assist the Tennessee Valley UU Church and the Westside Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and their members, and will show them that they are not alone during this time of shock and grief. Your contributions are encouraged.
August 2
(posted at 2:00 p.m.)
A page has been created to hold all Knoxville materials found on UUA.org and UUWorld.org. Visit "Unitarian Universalists Respond to Tragedy in Knoxville" for links to information and resources.
The sanctuary of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) will be rededicated in a service on August 3 at 10:00 a.m. The service will be streamed live by a local television station and will also be available for rebroadcast through the station's website.
Former UUA President John A. Buehrens, who served the congregation as minister during the 1970's, will be one of the speakers at the rededication service.
UUA Moderator Gini Courter has issued a call to all Unitarian Universalists to attend worship services on Sunday "to engage in a simple yet radical act of solidarity." Courter says, "When Unitarian Universalists congregations are bound together, whether by tragedy or by common purpose, all congregations are ours, and we are theirs."
Worship Resources gathered from vigils and services held around the country honoring the victims of the Knoxville shooting and in solidarity with the two Knoxville congregations, have been posted on UUA.org. The worship resources are edited by Tim Temerson, candidate for the Unitarian Universalist ministry. To submit worship elements for consideration in this collection, email them to websubmissions @ uua.org.
Additional resources related to congregational safety have been posted on UUA.org. Additional resources for ministry to families and children following tragedy have also been added.
More than 500 messages of support and condolence have been posted to the blog, Supporting Our Friends in Knoxville. Add yours.
Many articles, representing the exhaustive coverage by the media on the Knoxville tragedy, and UU response to it, have been added to the UUA's press room. Select "Search News" and enter "Knoxville" for media coverage.
July 31
(posted at 11:00 a.m.)
President William G. Sinkford, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, who returned to Boston late on July 30 from Knoxville, issued a second statement on the tragedy. He said, “It will take time for Unitarian Universalists to mourn and to heal. But let me assure you that we will not change our beliefs or compromise our demands for social justice. Fear will not prevent us from standing on the side of love, and we will continue to open our doors and our hearts to all people. This Sunday, just like any other, more than one thousand Unitarian Universalist congregations will be open for business, and our business is to welcome the stranger, to love our neighbor, to nurture the spirits of our people, and to help heal our wounded world.” Sinkford’s complete statement can be found online.
In the first 24 hours of its existence, the newly-established Knoxville Relief Fund has received more than 300 donations. The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) in collaboration with the Thomas Jefferson District has established the Fund to bring ministry, spiritual care, and practical financial assistance to those affected by the tragedy in Knoxville, Tennessee. Your gifts will assist the Tennessee Valley UU Church and the Westside Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and their members, and will show them that they are not alone during this time of shock and grief. To make online donations or obtain further information, visit UUA.org > Giving.
In other related news:
- UUA Thomas Jefferson District Executive Annette Marquis’ reflection on the tragedy and the response of the Unitarian Universalist community, “I’ve Never Been So Proud,” has been posted.
- There have been numerous updates to a page containing messages of support and condolence from interfaith and international faith partners.
- More than 500 messages of support and condolence have been posted to the blog, Supporting Our Friends in Knoxville. Add yours.
- Information on vigils and services of support and remembrance for the victims of the Knoxville shootings continues to be gathered and posted. If you have information to share about such an event, including photos from vigils, please email websubmissions @ uua.org.
- A service of rededication for the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church is being planned for Sunday, August 3. Further information will follow.
July 30
(posted at 1:00 p.m.)
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), in association with the UUA Thomas Jefferson District, has launched the Knoxville Relief Fund, to bring ministry, spiritual care, and practical financial assistance to those affected by the tragedy in Knoxville, Tennessee. Gifts to the fund will assist members of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church and Westside Unitarian Universalist Church and their loved ones, and will show them that they are not alone during this time of shock and grief.
Income from the Knoxville Relief Fund will go to the Thomas Jefferson District of the UUA to be used at their discretion to assist Tennessee Valley UU Church and Westside Unitarian Universalist Church and their members. No more than 5% of the funds raised will be used to cover administrative costs, including fees for credit card processing, before being directed to the Thomas Jefferson District. For more information on the Knoxville Relief Fund, including a link for online donations, please visit UUA.org > Giving.
At 7:30 p.m. on July 28, the greater Knoxville community gathered at Second Presbyterian Church for a service of memory and healing. The service included participants from the Westside Unitarian Universalist Church and the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Relief Ministry and Rev. William G. Sinkford, UUA President, also participated in the service. A report on the worship service will be posted on UUA.org this afternoon and additional coverage on UUWorld.org will follow on Wednesday.
Information on vigils and services of support and remembrance for the victims of the Knoxville shootings continues to be gathered and posted on UUA.org. If you have information to share about such an event, please email information to websubmissions @ uua.org.
Messages of support and condolence for the members of the two Knoxville congregations continue to be received at the UUA's "Supporting Our Friends in Knoxville" blog site. Please feel free to add your message of support.
(posted at 10:00 p.m.)
Information on vigils and services of remembrance for those in Knoxville is being received. If you have information on such a service, or images and text to share, please write to oecdirector @ uua.org.
(posted at 2:00 p.m.)
The Unitarian Universalist Association has opened a space for those who wish to share messages of support with Unitarian Universalists of Knoxville. Please visit this new site to read or post your own message.
(posted 11:30 a.m.)
UUA President William G. Sinkford is now en route to Knoxville. Sinkford will speak tonight at a candlelight vigil to be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Second Presbyterian Church located next to the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.
Trauma Response Resources for Families and Congregations have now been added to the Related Content box on this page.
(posted 9:45 a.m.)
A shooting Sunday morning at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) has resulted in the death of a TVUUC member and that of a member of Westside Unitarian Universalist Church (located in Farragut, Tennessee) who was visiting TVUUC for the performance of youth play.
In the wake of this tragedy, Unitarian Universalists are rallying to offer ministry and support to the affected members of both Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Seven adults were also injured but—according to published reports—no children were harmed during the melee. The gunman was tackled by congregants and eventually taken into police custody.
UUA Thomas Jefferson District (TJD) Executive Annette Marquis has arrived in Knoxville to provide support and guidance to the Tennessee Valley and Westside congregations. Two members of the Unitarian Universalist Trauma Response Ministry, Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt and Rev. Susan Suchoki Brown, were en route to Knoxville Sunday evening to provide additional support to members of the two congregations directly affected by this tragedy.
Retired UU minister Rev. Gordon Gibson was attending the service on Sunday morning when the shootings occurred; Gibson is now among those ministers now providing ministerial support on site for the Tennessee Valley and Westside UU congregations. Other Unitarian Universalist ministers are on the scene as well, working with members of the congregation and offering ministry support at the hospital where the wounded are being treated. Police chaplains have also been dispatched to the hospital.
Sue Sinnamon, TJD Director of Faith Development, will be arriving in Knoxville today; UUA President William G. Sinkford, who released a statement on the tragedy hours after it occurred, will also fly to Knoxville today to offer his personal support to the members of the two Tennessee congregations in this time of crisis.
Information on this page will be updated as additional news is received.
This work is made possible by the generosity of individual donors. Please consider making a donation today.
Last updated on Thursday, June 3, 2010.
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