As seen on Christian Headlines
On the heels of the California food festival mass shooting in Gilroy, two more senseless shootings occurred within roughly twelve hours of each other over the weekend in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
Collectively, these back-to-back murderous acts of gun violence have left 29 dead and at least 53 injured. Many Americans, grieving across our nation, will want to help but feel helpless to do so in the aftermath of these shocking events.
One doesn’t have to look any further than social media feeds to see countless posts from well-meaning people offering “thoughts and prayers,” a phrase that has become a common condolence used in the public square in the aftermath of a mass shooting. Because we are at a loss for what to say — let alone do — after these tragedies occur, it can be tempting to offer trite platitudes.