“You cannot read this book without being moved to tears as you behold a community responding to horror and trauma with grace, humility, courage and faith. If anyone is searching for testimony about what being a Christian means in contemporary America, they should begin here. I often say ‘If it can’t be happy, make it beautiful.’ I’ve never read a more eloquent example of that statement than this elegant and stirring volume.”

Samuel Wells, Vicar, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, UK

Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church published a memoir titled The Light Shines in the Darkness: Choosing Hope after a Mass Shooting, which features a compilation of essays written in response to the June 16, 2022, mass shooting at the church in which three parishioners were killed. The book includes essays written by 42 individuals.

“We wanted to reflect the hope, love and compassion that Saint Stephen’s chose to embody in response to the violence inflicted upon our parish,” said The Rev. John Burruss, rector of Saint Stephen’s. “Forty-two parishioners courageously reflect on the tragedy and its effect on their lives and Christian faith. 

The book is edited by local author and church member Melinda Rainey Thompson, whose father was killed in the shooting. Photography is provided by professional photographer Van Chaplin, who is also a parishioner, as well as other congregants.

“When John asked me to lead a group of nonprofessional writers from our church to create a collection of reflections on this event, I was initially hesitant, however it has been a healing process,” said Thompson. “The way that Saint Stephen’s responded to the shooting and the tidal wave of grief in its wake is an inspirational story.”

The book is available for purchase at the online retailer Amazon.com. Proceeds will go toward the church’s cost of constructing a garden labyrinth, which will be open to the community as a place of prayer, pilgrimage, reflection and peace. It is, also, a remembrance for the lives of Bart Rainey, Jane Pounds and Sharon Yeager and for those who survived the June 16 shooting.