I grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee. I loved it there, and I’d give just about anything to have the opportunity to move back. It is my home. It will always be my home.

So when I saw an RSS feed article about a church shooting in Tennessee, I clicked on it, holding my breath, knowing that it’s a big state and there are literally thousands of churches across the state. And when the article came up, and the first thing I saw was that it was a church in West Knoxville, my heart stopped. I attended a great church there and I’ve often said I wish I could transplant it every time I move, because we’ve found nothing that even compares.

I read further and was relieved to find out that it wasn’t “my” church. But it was a church I knew well…one I drove past every day on my way to work, one that my friends attended, and one that I could see myself attending if “my” church wasn’t so awesome. I am absolutely heartbroken for the congregation there. The gunman walked in and opened fire during a children’s theatrical production during the regular service, so there were a lot of kids there who witnessed everything. Over 200 people in the sanctuary at the time. When he stopped to reload, he was tackled by several parishioners and the police department was able to arrest him 4 minutes after they got the initial report of the shooting. Thank God for those quick thinking men who managed to stop him from doing more damage.

One person is confirmed dead right now. Several more are in critical condition. Please, if you believe in prayer, pray for the victims of this tragedy. There is a lot of speculation as to why he did this…the most likely reason seems to be the ambiguous term “hate” crime. This was a very accepting church and it sounds like they’ve recently had a sign up letting homosexuals know that they were welcome there. Regardless of the reasons, it’s a terrible tragedy and there’s a lot of confusion and grief in my hometown today. People should feel safe in their places of worship, no matter their beliefs.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church

Local newspaper’s coverage

Edited to add this info: It seems that the church’s policy of acceptance was not the reason this man targeted the church. Instead, one of his neighbors says he has a hatred for Christianity.   Ironically, I’d say that Unitarians are not generally considered a Christian denomination. Regardless, it was a senseless tragedy and now 2 people have passed away. So unnecessary.