06/02/2026
Church family and Friends,
Today, our hearts are heavy as we grieve the violence and loss of six lives in Muscatine. There are lives lost and many more with wounds that can’t be seen. We join together in mourning and lift all affected by this tragedy in prayer.
Over the past day and last night, I have been searching for words to try to offer comfort and answers to my neighbors. Yet every time I do, I find myself instead turning back to prayer, asking God for strength because I am so weary from watching so much senseless violence regularly.
Yet God doesn’t want us to avoid grief, and comforts us when we experience moments of heartache. Jesus says in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
We may not understand why these events happen, but we do know that God holds us all in comfort, even in the darkest of days.
I hold our community in prayer, and I ask that we all do the same.
Blessings,
Pastor Jonathan
