Religious groups across the United States are offering assistance to the people of Virginia Tech. Disaster News Network reports:
BLACKSBURG, VA. (April 17, 2007) — Faith-based disaster response organizations have sent staff and are offering long-term spiritual care support as Virginia Tech continues to reel from Monday's shooting rampage.
Disaster response organizations, including Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and Lutheran Disaster Reponse (LDR), sent teams to Blacksburg. Other faith-based disaster response organizations were offering resources and support to the various congregational staff both to help counsel the public and to care for those caregivers….
As they respond, clergy were also offering their thoughts on the tragedy, including the Rev. Richard Vaught, associate conference minister of the United Church of Christ (UCC) Shenandoah Association. "...the comments of a Palestinian (VT) student on CNN this afternoon focused my feelings. He had lived in some very violent places and he said he had felt safe at Tech and in Blacksburg. Now that has changed, perhaps not forever, but for a very long time. Where is there a safe place?" Vaught wrote in an e-mail to UCC staff.
UCC has been in touch with a local congregation, Glade UCC, and counseling and assistance has been offered by the UCC National Disaster Office.
The Roanoke District of the United Methodist Church was in contact with its local churches. Carole Click, the district's office manager, said the school's Wesley Foundation provided shelter to students. "Wesley Foundation at Virginia Tech heard about the shooting within minutes after it happened, and immediately went into shutdown mode and provided a shelter for students adjacent to campus," she said. "They will continue to offer their facilities and staff to anyone in need of their services, for shelter, for use of landline phones or for counseling."
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