a day for healing: love your neighbor as yourself

I attended the interfaith Service of Unity and Hope this morning at the Jewish Community Center. The crowd was huge - standing room only; the love in the room was palpable. It was a grey, damp, cold morning, but the amount of hope and healing that hung in the air was as thick and comforting as a pile of old woolen blankets.

Admittedly, it was tough seeing the phalanx of police, the circling helicopters and the news crews at our beloved JCC.

There were many speakers, including the US Attorney General Eric Holder. Of all the words uttered, this excerpt from Reverend Bob Hill's closing prayer resonated the most with me:

And in it all we have begun to see a path toward healing:

that the only way out of pain is through,

the only way beyond loss is through,

the only way to the light of healing is to go through this present darkness,

step by step, breath by breath, hand in hand,

stumbling maybe, from time to time, but always moving forward,

together, with one another and with You.

[Reverend Hill is the senior minister at Community Christian Church in Kansas City and gave me permission to share his words here.]