Posted on 10/04/2006 9:50:17 PM PDT by joanie-f
My husband and I live in Lancaster County and have of course been following the news of the school house shooting tragedy over the past few days. Friends from around the country have been in contact with us, wanting to know where they can send letters of condolence and contributions to the families of the young victims.
I originally had very mixed emotions about contributing to a fund to defray the families’ transportation and medical expenses. The Amish do not believe in insurance of any kind, so surely do not have the means to pay for what will no doubt be extremely high hospital/medical bills. But they are a very proud people, and I was not entirely sure how they would respond to such donations, so I visited a local Amish farmer yesterday morning to ask him that question. Though he told me his own personal views, he, too, did not want to speculate on how individual families might respond. So I chose to assume that the Lord would want us to reach out in any way we are able to do so.
The children who were killed in the shootings will be buried today, Thursday, the 5th. Their obituaries appeared in a Lancaster newspaper yesterday and my concerns were answered. They contain the addresses of their families (for use in sending letters of condolence) as well as the address to which contributions can be sent to be earmarked for the fund that has been set up for the families. Below are the addresses of the families, and the address of the fund to which donations may be sent in lieu of flowers.
The families whose daughters remain fighting for their lives in area hospitals have requested that the media stop covering their children’s conditions. They want to retain their privacy in that respect. Two of the families have removed their daughters from life support, and have brought them home so that they might die with their families nearby, and in familiar surroundings.
Members of the Old Order Amish Church in Paradise, Bart Township, to which all of the victims’ families belong, have been reaching out to Charles Roberts’ wife and children. The Amish here in Lancaster County, although generally choosing to keep to themselves, are kind and generous not only when one of their own is in need, but also when any of the ‘English’ (their non-Amish neighbors) fall upon hard times … and apparently the family of the man who murdered their young children is no exception.
If you would like to make a donation to the wife and children of Charles Roberts, they may be sent to:
Roberts Family Fund
Coatesville Savings Bank
1082 Georgetown Road
Paradise, PA 17562
Having lived among the Amish for the past thirty-plus years, I am also attaching some thoughts that I wrote the day of the tragedy, for those of you who may not be familiar with the Amish … as well as a brief update written a day later (apologies to those who may have already read either one).
Because the Amish consider the creation of personal images or photographs by themselves to be hochmut (proud), no photographs are in existence of the five little girls who have died. But these are their names and ages, and their families’ addresses. I hope that many of us will offer up a special prayer for them, as well as for the young girls who are still fighting for their lives in area hospitals, and their grieving families, over the next few days and weeks:
Lena Miller, age 7, and Mary Liz Miller, age 8
Parents:
Christ and Rachel Zook Miller
5070 White Oak Road
Paradise, PA 17562
Naomi Rose Ebersol, age 7
Parents:
Amos and Katie Ann Fisher Ebersol
1921 Mine Road
Paradise, PA 17562
Anna Mae Stoltzfus, age 12
Parents:
Christ K, and Lizzie L. Allgyer Stoltzfus
1931 Mine Road
Paradise, PA 17562
Marian Fisher, age 13
Parents:
John S. and Linda Stoltzfus Fisher
1977 Mine Road
Paradise, PA 17562
The families of all of the deceased have requested that flowers be omitted. Contributions for all victims may be sent to Nickel Mine School Victims Fund, c/o Hometown Heritage Bank, P.O. Box 337, Strasburg, PA 17579.
The following was posted Monday, 2 October:
No innocent person should die at the hands of another. But somehow the tragedy of innocent death is magnified when the victim is a child. And when that child is a small Amish girl who is murdered execution style in her little one-room schoolhouse, the mind somehow cannot wrap itself around the idea that such depravity exists.
Where in the ranks of humanity does one come across a man who could bind such a young child, force her to stand in front of a blackboard in her classroom, point the muzzle of a gun at hear head, and shoot her dead?
The Amish are not a caricature of a people. They are a people who, while the rest of us have grown soft and complacent, continue to embody all of those time-honored character traits that the American pioneers mustered from within in order to build the most decent, moral, prosperous civilization in the history of mankind.
The Amish are God-fearing, honest, simple, rugged, hard-working, courageous people who are unyielding in their religious and lifestyle beliefs, and who are not subject to the winds of fleeting trends or political correctness.
They have not fallen prey to the superficial, materialistic mindset that so often permeates so much of modern American thought. The love of God, devotion to family, and the belief that hard work is its own reward, are, and always will be, the cornerstone of Amish culture.
They are not a covetous people, nor are they a violent people. They believe that, within the will of God, one reaps what one sows. So today’s tragedy in southern Lancaster County will be interpreted as God’s will. And the Amish know that we humans do not always comprehend the reasons behind such seemingly senseless tragedies. But they will turn to the Lord for answers, and for the strength and comfort that only He can provide them now.
Those newscasters that I have heard today speaking about the need for more stringent school security measures, and the fact that counsellors and adivsors will be on hand for the victims and their families, are all speaking from their own vantage point … a shallow perspective that is entirely foreign to Amish culture.
As heartbreaking as today’s murders are, the Amish of Bart Township will not now begin planning how better to physically secure their little schoolhouses. Nor will they be seeking out ‘professional help’ in order to make their grief bearable. Instead, their needs for security, solace and a listening ear will be met within their own small community, and as they communally turn to the Lord as their infallible source of wisdom, comfort and strength.
We all need to remember in prayer the families of the victims and survivors of today’s tragedy, as well as the family of the man who caused this unspeakable heartbreak. All are innocents whose lives will never be the same, and all are in need of our prayers.
Addendum, 3 October, 2006:
Perhaps the moist vivid example of the goodness and grace of the Amish people is evidenced by the fact that the small handful of grieving parents who have issued a statement have requested prayers, not only for their families, but for the eternal soul of Charles Roberts. Their sense of love and forgiveness extends even to him. I can think of no more profound example of Christian love.
BTTT
I grew up in Amish country (one county north of Lancaster, Berks County).
You'll have a VERY hard time finding finer people: hard-working, honest, sweet: they restore your faith in humanity. . .
Thank you both
Ping
Do you think I'll get in trouble if I bump this? Well I don't care! I'm bumping this and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me! Living life on the edge...that's me.
Thanks for sharing...I was just wondering this very morning about how I might be able to express my condolences and assist those who lost so much on that day....
Baptist ping
Bumping this for the morning crowd.
BTTT!
Thank you.
Thank you joanie, for this beautiful tribute and for all you have done.
And the Amish know that we humans do not always comprehend the reasons behind such seemingly senseless tragedies. But they will turn to the Lord for answers, and for the strength and comfort that only He can provide them now.
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,Luke 6:27
"And if you love those who love you, what credit is [that] to you? For even sinners love those who love them.Luke 6:32
"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil [men.]Luke 6:35
I believe this is the hardest of all commandments, and we can learn a lot from the Amish. God Bless them for the Christian example they show the world!
Joanie, Thank you for posting this. - The "counsellors" from outside probably don't know it, but they will most likely find out pretty quickly that they could learn a thing or two from the Amish.
Thank you, Joanie.
Powerful witness bump.
Thank you Joanie. I also forwarded the donation address to some friends of mine.
I should have checked in here earlier in the week. I have been very troubled about what happened in Lancaster, and I should have known that you would write the ultimate tribute to those young Amish girls and their families. Thank you for saying what so many of us have been trying to say.
bump
ping for action.
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