metta fro my town

In the Connecticut town where I live and work, an unhappy employee shot and killed eight people before killing himself last Tuesday. The community's in shock. I left a memorial service in a town park on Sunday because all the speakers talked about God -- a merciful God, as if this weren't an argument that he doesn't exist. So I was thrilled to see that the latest service -- in a church -- included a metta meditation. It may be just because the service displaced the Order of Interbeing sangha that normally meets in the church at that time, but the more metta in the world, the better. nancy

MANCHESTER — Friends, family, coworkers, and town officials gathered Tuesday for a non-denominational memorial service at North United Methodist Church to remember the nine men who died one week ago at Hartford Distributors Inc.
For those gathered, it was part of the process to begin healing after the “quiet rhythms of our town were shocked by the most unwanted violence,” said the Rev. Laurel E. Scott.
Eight days ago, early on Tuesday, Aug. 4, eight men — truck drivers, husbands, grandfathers, coworkers, dedicated citizens, and beloved family members — lost their lives when Omar Thornton shot his coworkers and himself after attending a disciplinary meeting where he was accused of stealing beer.
Song, prayer, a Buddhist meditation on loving kindness, and words of hope were part of the evening.