TOPIC: Amish Struggle with Forgiveness as Reality of School Killings Sets In
The Amish community which suffered the tragic schoolhouse shooting earlier in the month is taking it day by day to forgive the killer in the face of overwhelming grief.
by Maria Mackay
It is a daily struggle to live Jesus’ message of forgiveness for the Amish community in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, which lost five girls at the start of the month in a schoolhouse shooting. This week the President of US ministry Faith and Action, the Rev. Rob Schenck, hand-delivered hundreds of prayers in binders for the victims of the massacre and their families, as well as for the family of the shooter, married father-of-three Charles Carl Roberts.
Reverend Schenck was one of very few outsiders to be given the privilege of personally visiting the families of the children in the days immediately following the tragedy. The families of the slain girls generously allowed Rev. Schenck to participate in and witness firsthand some of their most intimate and private moments of grief, which included the preparations of the girls for their funerals by their grieving mothers and relatives. Rev. Schenck spent time with the family of Charlie Roberts shortly after Amish representatives assured them that the community forgave Roberts and laid no charge against the Roberts family.
Rev. Schenck’s experience with both the families of the victims and of the perpetrator was one that profoundly touched him and the extent of their forgiveness challenged immensely his own witness to the gospel’s message to "love our enemies". He noted that at the time of his early pastoral visits, Amish church leaders explained that it would become progressively more difficult to sustain forgiveness as time passes. Mr. Schenck saw that in his most recent visits. In a statement released after this week’s visit to the Amish families, he said,

“The Amish will tell you they are far from perfect. They struggle just as all of us do. Some of the family members told me this week they are having a very difficult time with their feelings as the reality of their loss settles in. The grandfather of one girl told me in tears he must depend on God each and every day for the strength to continue forgiving the man who killed his granddaughter and wounded the other children so terribly. Once again, these people are living out the gospel in front of us. Our experience with God's forgiveness is a daily one. Forgiving others is a process. No one is perfect. The Amish, like any of us, are struggling with their humanity. That's why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to us. And it's why we need His Spirit to help us. There are many dimensions to this terrible event. We are only now beginning to learn from it. The Amish say that's why God allowed it, to teach us something."

As someone who knows the loss of a brother, I can empathize and certainly understand the feelings these Amish families are facing. It is also with much sadness that I confess understanding for their struggle with forgiveness on a daily basis. Pray for the families, the community and our country. We ALL need to be more aware of and compassionate towards the people around us.

TOPIC: Charles Carl Roberts Murdered Three Children at an Amish School
The Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania has been hit by the unthinkable -- a school shooting. So far, four people are dead. We know seven others are in area hospitals -- some are confirmed to have been shot in the head and torso. It is the nation's third deadly school shooting in less than a week, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
Apparently, the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts, (32 yrs old) entered the school after backing a blue pickup truck to the school's front door. Charles Roberts was a tanker truck driver for local company, Northwest Foods .
Reports say he burst into the one-room school house at around 10:00am and made demands of the teacher and students. Roberts made all the males leave the school, along with adult teachers and a pregnant aid. He then boarded the doors with 2x4's and 2x6's. One of the teachers called 911 at 10:36am. She told law enforcement what was going on at the school.
Officers responded to the scene around 10:45am -- and set up a parameter around the school building. Roberts called the 911 center around 11:00am and demanded that the police back off or something major would happen. He gave them 10 seconds to respond. While the police were trying to get the word to their officers, and contact Charles Roberts to negotiate, Roberts opened fire. He had already bound the female students, whose ages ranged from six to thirteen years. The children were totally helpless to defend themselves.
ASIDE: The police say Roberts' suicide notes make mention of something that happened 20 years ago, and possible revenge for that event. It looks like he was around 12 years old at that time. He may have been rejected by a school girl friend, but never got over it. He took his revenge at the closest place he could find young girls -- a school just down the road from where he lived.
Just after 11:00am, Roberts called his wife and told her he was not coming home again. He told her that he had left notes for his own children. As Roberts shot the young girls in the head, execution style, troopers stormed the building. They entered through windows (as the doors were blocked off). Roberts fired at officers frantically. Charles Roberts then killed himself.
There are clothes strewn about the otherwise sparse school grounds. I saw a bat laying in the ballfield to the left of the school house -- indicating some children may have been outside when Charles Roberts arrived. There are two spots covered with sheets, presumably blood stains from the shootings.

We are learning more every few minutes. I'll update this story as I receive more information.

ADDENDUM 3:02pm ET: Some reports are now saying that two young girls and a teacher's aide were the three murdered; the fourth being Charles Roberts.