open forum to share feelings regarding the tragedy in Aurora, CO

Hi Hippogriffs,

As many of you know, a very sad incident occurred in Aurora, Colorado Thursday night in which a young man shot and killed 12 people and injured several others during a midnight screening of the new Batman movie. The man was taken into police custody and will be investigated for this crime soon.

I know that many of you are fans of not only Harry Potter books and movies but other stories as well. And maybe some of you have been to midnight releases or were planning to see the new Batman movie too. Or simply, you're young, and some of the people who died in Aurora were young, and I'm sure you can identify with them. These connections make this news extra hard to think about.

So I wanted to let you know that some of the adults in our church are working on putting together a special group during tomorrow's Sunday school time for any tween/teens who may want to come together to talk about what happened. There won't really be a structure, we just hope to provide a safe and loving space for you to share your feelings, support your friends, and come together as the young community you already are. While we talk, we're thinking about putting together a large sympathy card to send to the UU church in Aurora, which all of you can decorate together and then we'll invite the larger church community to sign it along with us at the caring card table after the church service. We'll likely meet in the big room (room 9? I can never remember what it's called) but please just come to church tomorrow for the service and we'll point you in the right direction if you'd like to join us. And please forward this email to anyone you know who might like to come too.

Meanwhile, I encourage all of you to consider some of the many wise words of Dumbledore as we think about this event. One quote that is sticking in my mind is this:

"That which Voldemort does not value, he takes no trouble to comprehend. Of house-elves and children’s tales, of love, loyalty, and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing. Nothing. That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.”

I know that you all understand this truth: the power of house-elves, children's tales, love, loyalty and innocence. We need to keep loving our stories and each other.

Also, please check out this response from the Harry Potter Alliance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxW3GM5FrXY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

There is no Batman, we have to be our own heroes. The weapon we have is love.

In love and fandom,

~Lynne