In Moments Like These

I gave this address at the Virginia Tech Candlelight Vigil held at the Campanile on the campus of Kansas University. I hope you will find comfort in the words it contains.

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In moments like these, words fail us.

When peace is punctuated by violent acts –
    we search ever deeper for messages of hope and inspiration.
When the certainty of tomorrow is interrupted by the uncertainty of today –
    we cling to thoughts of stability and safety.
When justice appears cloudy and distant –
    we long for a place of belonging and community.

Tonight as we gather in support of our friends and colleagues on the campus of Virginia Tech I would encourage each of us to lean on our own traditions. As we enter our time of silence, prayer or reflection I would encourage you to reach beyond yourselves - to embrace the comfort that you find both in one another and in the great mysteries beyond.

For the victims and their families we offer a time of silence.


For those witnessing the atrocities we offer a time of silence.


For the family and friends of the perpetrator we offer a time of silence.


For those working for peace and justice in the aftermath of the violence we offer at time of silence.


For healing on the campus of Virginia Tech we offer a time of silence.


Hope comes in the life we still have – and the lives of those around us.
Inspiration is available in the communities of which we are a part.
Certainty is still ours when stability and safety seem so far away.
Justice, though delayed, will surely come.
And, Peace, may you find Peace tonight in the very core of your being.

For all of these things: Hope, Inspiration, Certainty, Justice and Peace we are forever grateful.

Let us go forward, united as a community, living lives of hope, inspiration, certainty, justice and peace; remembering the lives of those that were lost – that they may not have died in vain.