Rain drops are seen on a figurine of an angel at a makeshift memorial to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 17. The small Connecticut town shattered by an act President Barack Obama called “unconscionable evil,” was preparing for the first of 20 funerals for schoolchildren massacred in their classrooms last week. (CNS photo/Mike Segar, Reuters
“During this special season of joy and celebration, I think we need to be aware of our friends, family and neighbors for whom this season is a sad and difficult time of the year. I am thinking of all of those in our community who have lost friends and loved ones during the year to illness or accident. Or, who long for the presence of a husband or wife, mother or father, brother or sister who is absent from home because of separation or divorce, deployment overseas or incarceration. For all those in the grip of sorrow or sadness, this festive season underscores the absence of the person they love from their lives.
“In particular, I am mindful of the families of the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Like many of you, I have watched the news reports and looked on in great sorrow at the sight of family friends, colleagues and neighbors who grieved those who were killed in such a senseless crime. Let us continue to remember them in our prayers as we celebrate the gift of Christ’s presence – the source of our joy and salvation.”
The Inside Passage 
“During this special season of joy and celebration, I think we need to be aware of our friends, family and neighbors for whom this season is a sad and difficult time of the year. I am thinking of all of those in our community who have lost friends and loved ones during the year to illness or accident. Or, who long for the presence of a husband or wife, mother or father, brother or sister who is absent from home because of separation or divorce, deployment overseas or incarceration. For all those in the grip of sorrow or sadness, this festive season underscores the absence of the person they love from their lives.
“In particular, I am mindful of the families of the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Like many of you, I have watched the news reports and looked on in great sorrow at the sight of family friends, colleagues and neighbors who grieved those who were killed in such a senseless crime. Let us continue to remember them in our prayers as we celebrate the gift of Christ’s presence – the source of our joy and salvation.”
Most Reverend Edward J. Burns
Bishop of Juneau
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