George Tiller's Death An Outrage

I worshipped last Sunday as a guest at an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America congregation in rural Hamilton Square, Pennsylvania. I was greeted by a friendly man (usher) at the door, who presented me with a worship bulletin. I thought very little of the exchange. When I read the news about Dr. George R. Tiller's murder, I thought about my exchange with the usher. He was there to welcome me. His was a small attempt to make me comfortable in a new place. That is what Dr. Tiller was up to on Pentecost Sunday. He was extending hospitality. He was saying welcome to worship. He was in church, a place most human beings consider a sanctuary. Perhaps when he came face to face with his assassin he greeted him. We may never know what transipired in their brief exchange before the gun was fired. The murder of Dr. Tiller in church goes too far. Anti-abortion groups will have to crawl long and far to get from under the ethically and morally challenging cloud which hovers over their cause. What greeted worshippers at Reformation Lutheran Church on the day their children made their confirmations was simply an outrage. As the only African American present at worship at Hamilton Square,Pennsylvania I felt that everything was alright after crossing the threshold. I felt welcomed when the usher extended his hand।Iwas in a holy sanctuary.