Seattle is a city on edge. As one journalist put it, we pride ourselves as being “an emerald refuge in the corner of a troubled country”. But over the past several months, several random killings have shattered that identity.

Though I didn’t know any of the victims, some of these killings have hit very close to home. Justin Ferrari, father of two, was shot in broad daylight at an intersection that’s home to one of my family’s favorite restaurants. It’s also two blocks away from where my kids will go to high school, and one block away from their favorite playground.  We’re in that neighborhood all the time. Another victime, Gloria Koch Leonidas, was shot during a car jacking. The shooting took place a half-mile from my office.

So how should Christians respond in light of these events? What does it mean for us to be faithfully present in our city at this time?

I think that both congregations and individual Christians need to see this as an opportunity to love and serve our city. A very significant part of a healthy Christian identity means we understand that God has placed us in the city to be a blessing to the city. We’re not to be AGAINST the city with a posture of angry self-righteousness. Nor are we to simply be OF the city, absorbing all of the city’s values and no longer living distinctly as God’s people. Rather we are to be FOR the city—living uniquely as God’s people in a way that seeks to bless the city.

This is a great calling to embrace. We need to realize that the church has been uniquely gifted by God to do this very thing. Now is a great time for Christians to live up to the task God has given us.

What might this look like right now? I will sketch out a few possibilities.

1. Share in Grief & Anger. Innocent people have been killed. The peace of our city has been vandalized by the violent. We should join those around us in grief, anger, and sorrow. Of all the people in the world, Christians know that the world is not the way it should be. This should move us to compassion and shared lament with our city.

One woman in our congregation sent me this beautiful email last week.

The Cafe Racer folks live near me, and there was a big group of regulars mourning together in the street Wednesday evening. Neighbors came out and everyone just stood in a big group (50 people or so) together listening to an accordion player and a singer. It was good to mourn together for our broken neighborhood and for the tragedy. There were all kinds of different people coming together…. We're not really afraid, but we don't really know where to start with reaching out as our neighbors grieve. Thanks for praying for us and the Cafe Racer owners and regulars.

This is both a priestly and a prophetic role for Christians to play. It is priestly because we are helping tend to the wounds of sin and death that are present in our city. It is prophetic because in our grief, we are proclaiming that things should not be this way.  We can and should groan because all creation groans.

2) Model a Different Way of Responding to the Violence. The killings were sinful and should not have happened. God created human beings to love one another, not to kill one another.

At the same time, Christians should be able during to model anger and grief without self-righteousness. This is because we understand that we are not innocent. Like the violent people in our city, we are sinners. True, most of us will never shoot another human being in cold blood. Regardless, the Christian self-understanding is that of people who understand that our greatest need is for forgiveness—from God and others.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said it well:

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

This is an entirely counter-cultural way to respond to violence. We can express solidarity with both the victims and the perpetrators. The church has a great opportunity before us to model grief and anger in a gospel-shaped manner. This is a great gift to offer others.

3. Be a Welcoming Place for Seattle’s Outcasts. The church is many things. First and foremost, I would say that the church is a family.

If you read the stories about Ian Stawicki, they are heart-breaking. He was an angry, troubled man. Ian's brother was not surprised that he turned violent.

In light of Ian’s history, here are my questions: Would it have made any difference in his life if he was befriended by one Christian? What if he would have been welcomed by an entire congregation and treated as a member of its family?

Again, I don’t know the details of Ian’s life at all. Maybe such things did happen. Maybe they didn’t happen and even if they would have happened, he still would have killed all those people. But these are important questions for the church to ask.

Here's why. One of the greatest things a Christian congregation has to offer our city is it’s own life as a congregation. We have the ability, as an extended family, to welcome the widow, the orphan, and the outcast. True, this needs to be done wisely and with great care, but it is a significant calling for the church.

4. Be Available. During times like these, people are understandably shaken up. They are also likely to ask questions, big questions that have to do with human nature, evil, suffering, and God. This gives Christians opportunities to speak God’s truth when appropriate. This isn’t free reign to shove the Bible down peoples’ throats. But we may find, however, that some people may be now asking some questions they have never seriously considered. This is a great opportunity to carefully and wisely speak God’s truth into a city that really does need it.

God loves Seattle. He loves her so much he has placed many faithful congregations in her midst. Christians, now is the time for us to seek the peace of our city.