Sunday, August 31, 2025
Sunday Reflection: The Heartbroken
On Friday, I was riding home from work along Minnehaha Creek and realized I was just five blocks from Annunciation Catholic Church where children were shot in a horrific incident this past Wednesday. Two children were killed, 17 injured, and hundreds traumatized for life.
I had never been down that part of 54th street, which is a pretty typical Minneapolis neighborhood with tidy houses with flowers out front and a mix of stores at the intersection. The church is across the street from "Mac's Fish and Chips," which had a hand-lettered sign in the window supporting the church.
The church was ringed by somber people. There were tables laden with food set out for those who visited, and makeshift memorials around the church itself. The windows that the shooter aimed through had been boarded up, and chalk was set out for people to write massages on the boards and the sidewalk.
I stood by the church and cried, which is what everyone else seemed to be doing. Then I walked to the front and watched people console one another in two's and threes. Across the street, news crews leaned on their equipment, waiting for a vigil scheduled for later in the evening.
It was devastating to see it. As I walked away, a man wearing an Annunciation School sweatshirt said "thanks so much for supporting us."
I turned to him, surprised that he was thanking me for anything. For a moment I couldn't think of anything to say and then I tearfully said the only thing I could: "I'm so sorry." He wrapped me up in a big hug that lasted.
I asked him "will you pray with me?" He did. And then he took out his phone and showed me a picture I will never forget. It was a photo of the shirt his son was wearing to school on the day of the shooting. On the back of the shirt at the top were two holes: One where a bullet entered and a second where it exited, on either side of the neck of the shirt. The bullet passed a millimeter from his son's spine.
Then he told me what happened. There was a big kid in his son's pew, who realized what was going on and shoved everyone near him to the ground, then laid on top of them to protect them.
I hope that story gets told, that this young hero is recognized. And I hope, I pray, that we all get better and are better.
