Pulse
One year ago today... It was a Sunday morning, and I was at church getting ready for Sunday services when I heard the news that something terrible had happened in my then-home city of Orlando. With my heart sinking, I turned on the television in my office and learned to my horror that 49 people had been massacred early that morning in the Pulse nightclub--a club that had been founded as a "safe place" for the Orlando LGBTQ community to gather. It became evident very quickly that what happened was a hate crime against the LGBTQ community, perpetrated by a disturbed individual---an individual who had also been twisted and poisoned by religious extremism. I remember praying for peace and unity that Sunday in front of my congregation. I prayed defiantly for peace and unity, but deep inside I feared that things would take a different turn. My hope was that the Pulse nightclub tragedy would be a wake-up call to our country. I pra...