Christians look to God for comfort and guidance after a sniper kills five police officers.
Third Place, In-Depth Reporting, Associated Church Press (part of a series of stories on police shootings, racial unrest and the church)
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
DALLAS — A young mother on her way into worship hugged a Dallas police officer providing parking lot security at the Prestoncrest Church of Christ.
Any other Sunday, the scene would not have seemed so poignant.
But on this Lord’s Day, emotions were raw. Anxiety was high.
“It has been a very rough week for us in Dallas, unlike anything we’ve had in a while,” Prestoncrest minister Gordon Dabbs told his congregation before leading a special prayer.
Members of Churches of Christ — like Americans in general — are trying to make sense of the violence and racial tension that have shaken the nation.
Last week started with outrage over the latest police shootings of young black men — this time in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Then on Thursday night, a protest over those shootings turned violent when a sniper opened fire, killing five Dallas officers and wounding nine other officers and two civilians.
After the massacre in downtown Dallas, ministers such as Dabbs scrapped originally planned Sunday sermons and came up with new ones. Dabbs decided to focus on “what it means to be salt and light for Jesus in the midst of a divided and angry culture.”
Related story: As gunfire rang out, Dallas church member ran for his life (reporting from Dallas)
These stories appear in the online edition of The Christian Chronicle.
The Ross News 