Connecticut school district on lockdown after shooting report at a Newtown elemen #11

[Gardenlady]

Pastor apologizes for role in prayer vigil after Connecticut massacre

NEW YORK | Wed Feb 6, 2013 9:19pm EST

(Reuters) - A Connecticut Lutheran pastor has apologized for participating in an interfaith prayer vigil for the 26 children and adults killed at a Newtown elementary school in December because his church bars its clergy from worshiping with other faiths.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07/us-usa-shooting-newtown-idUSBRE91603F20130207

Ridiculous.

I was surprised to hear this coming from the usually-sensible Lutherans, but then saw mention in the article that he is of the Missouri synod, which is the much more conservative branch of Lutherans. I believe they still also officially teach that the pope is the Antichrist, too.

Insensitive at the very least. Christians of all stripes seem to often forget the words "that they all may be one".

 

[Elley Mae]

Ridiculous.

I was surprised to hear this coming from the usually-sensible Lutherans, but then saw mention in the article that he is of the Missouri synod, which is the much more conservative branch of Lutherans. I believe they still also officially teach that the pope is the Antichrist, too.

Insensitive at the very least. Christians of all stripes seem to often forget the words "that they all may be one".

I agree, Then I found and read this,

http://mb-soft.com/believe/text/lutheran.htm

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), headquartered in Geneva, coordinates the activities of almost all Lutheran churches in the world. It oversees ecumenical relations, theological studies, and world service and is guided by an international executive committee.
Most Lutheran churches are also members of the World Council of Churches.

bbm

 

[FragileSugar]

With Care, Newtown Tries to Move On Amid Tokens of Grief

Almost two months after 26 children and educators were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School, local residents and officials are trying to figure out what to do with hundreds of thousands of letters, cards, posters, banners, photographs, paintings and quilts — a time capsule of grief and a reminder that even here catastrophe cannot last forever.

They are trying to balance respect and practicality, the need to remember and the need to move on, the options presented by the digital world and the power of the tangible artifacts in pen and paper, crayon and paint, glitter and cotton balls, fabric and thread.
...

 

[FragileSugar]

Hope4Horses Rescues Colt to Honor Newtown Shooting Victim

Six year-old Jessica Rekos was crazy about horses. She could hardly wait until she was ten years old when she would get her very own horse; a promise made to Jessica by her parents. But that promise will never be kept. Jessica was one of the 20 children and 6 adults whose lives were senselessly and tragically ended by a heavily armed gunman on a killing spree, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut, on December 14, 2012.

Both to honor and in memory of Jessica, Hope4Horses, a 501(c) (3) horse rescue and placement facility located in Hamilton, Massachusetts, saved the life of an 8 month-old Standardbred colt, pulling him from a killer buyer pen. The colt has been named Rekos.

Janine Jacques, the co-founder of Hope4Horses, will be picking up the colt and his mother in New Jersey and transporting them to the organization's barn in Hamilton, where they will remain until an adoptive family is found which hopefully has a little girl who is just as passionate about horses as Jessica.

 

[Darkman00]

Newtown children’s choir nears final performance

By Monica Hesse

Sunday’s performance on the Ryan Seacrest-hosted E! Grammy pre-show coverage will likely be the Newtown Music Project’s final one. “It wasn’t meant to be a road show,” said Tim Hayes, the New York-based producer who conceptualized the choir. “It’s our expectation that this project has run its cycle,” he said, and it’s time for the children to get back to their childhoods.

Still, the choir, comprising 20 elementary school-age children from the Newtown, Conn., area, has had more exposure in its month-long existence than most professional adult musicians.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...c97716-7078-11e2-a050-b83a7b35c4b5_story.html

 

[Darkman00]

Good link!

Letters to Newtown

Since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, more than a half million cards, letters, and drawings have been sent to the people of Newtown, Connecticut, from around the world. These messages of love, sadness, and hope have been on display in the town hall and viewed there by many residents and visitors. We believe that they deserve a wider audience. We will be posting new cards and letters every day to this Tumblr blog.

Check it out - http://letterstonewtown.tumblr.com/​

 

[Darkman00]

Newtown Action Alliance mulls gun reform

Published: Thursday, February 07, 2013

By Neal McNamara
nmcnamara@newhavenregister.com / Twitter: @Neal_McNamara

NEWTOWN — In a medium-sized meeting room on the second floor of Edmond Town Hall the voice of the silent majority who want gun law reform got a little louder.

Formed just two weeks ago, the Newtown Action Alliance strategized Thursday how to best effect change in gun laws at the state level – and later, the federal level. Voters, parents, politicians, and those touched by the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary attended, discussing the best ways to communicate the message of gun law reform.

Marty Isaac, president of the Connecticut Against Gun Violence advocacy group, was a main speaker, offering advice on how to lobby for gun law reforms. Nearly every seat in the meeting room was filled.

Read more: http://nhregister.com/articles/2013/02/07/news/doc51146247d92d6139206304.txt?viewmode=fullstory

 

[Darkman00]

First Donations After Newtown Shootings Being Spent

3 min. ago

(AP) The first of the money donated through the United Way after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School is being spent in part to meet the immediate needs of first responders, teachers, and others who lost wages and may have exhausted their benefits.

The United Way of Western Connecticut said Friday, January 18, that it has set up a $200,000 fund, which also is being used for youth programs and for mental health services for those affected by the shootings that left 20 students and six adults dead.

The $200,000 is separate from the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, which had a balance of $8.5 million as of Friday morning, according to Kim Morgan, chief executive officer of the United Way of Western Connecticut. She added that most of that money will be released this week.

‘‘The only thing that we did commit to already was two-way radios for the teachers in the school,’’ she said. ‘‘They wanted that to feel secure and be able to communicate to first responders directly. So we committed to help fund that.’’

Read more: http://newtownbee.com/News/2013-02-07__18-13-46/First+Donations+After+Newtown+Shootings+Being+Spent

 

[Darkman00]

Newtown Film's Backer Stands By The Project

Carole Dean, whose nonprofit sponsors films that “make a contribution to society,” says she has no reservations about helping fund the so-called “Newtown film,” Illness.

posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:21am EST

Tessa Stuart BuzzFeed Staff

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/tessastuart/newtown-films-backer-stands-by-the-project

 

[FragileSugar]

Music world helps Newtown heal following massacre

When 6-year-old Dylan Hockley was memorialized at a service following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, his parents were especially moved by one song.

A writer, Dushyanthi Satchi, had reworked the lyrics to the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah," from Dylan's favorite movie, "Shrek."

"Dylan's Hallelujah" begins, "It's calm, it's clear, it's a peaceful day, walking through the heavenly gates, hand in hand with teachers and my friends."

"That one thing — that song — has been quite healing for us," Nicole Hockley, Dylan's mother, said Thursday.

There have been many musical tributes to the victims of the Dec. 14 tragedy, some put on by world famous performers, others by local musicians and many involving the children of Newtown.

Professional football players were on the verge of tears when a group of 26 children who escaped the Newtown shooting, including Dylan's older brother, Jake, joined Jennifer Hudson at the Super Bowl to sing "America the Beautiful."

 

[FragileSugar]

Post-Newtown, mental health services considered

In the days following the shooting in Newtown that left 20 children and six staff members dead, speculation was rife over the 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza’s mental health. Multiple news outlets reported that Lanza had been taking medication prior to the shooting and that his mother had been mulling over more intensive treatment for her son. Throughout the state, lawmakers and Connecticut citizens have been asking the same question: Had the state’s mental health system been stronger, could the events at Newtown have been prevented?

In the wake of the shooting, the Connecticut Legislature established the Bipartisan Task Force on Gun Violence Protection and Children’s Safety on Jan. 14, charged with the mission of patching up cracks in any laws through which Lanza may have slipped. The task force is divided into three caucuses: school security, gun safety and mental health, which will each propose a bill this legislative session. Though bills normally take the entirety of the five-month legislative session to discuss, pass through committee and come up for a vote, the task force is due to release its proposals by the end of this month.

Several mental health experts interviewed said that although they were glad to see an unusual spotlight shone on issues of mental health, they worried that producing legislation in reaction to a tragedy might produce regulations that were not well-thought-out.

Kate Mattias, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Connecticut Chapter, said that Lanza’s high profile leads the public to wrongly conclude that individuals with mental illnesses have a propensity toward violence. To the contrary, according to the National Institute for Mental Health, individuals with severe mental illness are no more violent than the average population when their symptoms are controlled.

“There is no connection between what went on in Newtown and people with mental illness. We do not have any sort of diagnosis for the young man,” Mattias said. “What we do know is that the mentally ill are much more likely to be victims than to be perpetrators of crime.”

 

[FragileSugar]

State dismissive of truthers' Newtown hoax claims

Connecticut's attorney general has swatted away multiple requests -- made by conspiracy theorists -- for a state investigation into whether the worst elementary school shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.

George Jepsen, a Democrat in his first term as the state's top lawyer, expressed his bewilderment and disgust at the nature of those requests during an interview Wednesday with Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.

"Obviously, they have asked us to investigate whether the tragedy took place or whether it was framed by the government," Jepsen said. "We dismissed that out of hand and we don't investigate. It saddens and sickens me."

 

[Darkman00]

State dismissive of truthers' Newtown hoax claims

Connecticut's attorney general has swatted away multiple requests -- made by conspiracy theorists -- for a state investigation into whether the worst elementary school shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.

George Jepsen, a Democrat in his first term as the state's top lawyer, expressed his bewilderment and disgust at the nature of those requests during an interview Wednesday with Hearst Connecticut Newspapers.

"Obviously, they have asked us to investigate whether the tragedy took place or whether it was framed by the government," Jepsen said. "We dismissed that out of hand and we don't investigate. It saddens and sickens me."

On previous page, post #37 ... here:

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Connecticut school district on lockdown after shooting report at a Newtown elemen #11

 

[Trinityzuzu]

http://newtownbee.com/News/News/201...,+Remember,+Reflect+On+Post-12/14+Experiences


Brought me to tears

 

[FragileSugar]

http://newtownbee.com/News/News/201...,+Remember,+Reflect+On+Post-12/14+Experiences


Brought me to tears

But the memory that stands out among them was a quiet conversation she had with a Connecticut State Trooper who was assigned to guard one of the tiny caskets overnight in the vestibule of St Rose of Lima Church, between the evening wake and the morning funeral.

"Before we locked up for the night, this big burly trooper shared with me that he had a child about the same age as the one he was guarding that night," Ms Pinzi said. "He said that he would always read to his own child, and asked me if I could get him any children's books so he could read to the child he was spending his time with that evening."

 

[Darkman00]

State schools executive rebukes Newtown Board of Education chairman

Nanci G. Hutson, Published 10:44 am, Friday, February 8, 2013

NEWTOWN -- The head of the state superintendents' association sent a strongly worded rebuke to Newtown's Board of Education chairman for impugning the integrity of Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson.

Connecticut Association of Public Schools Superintendents Executive Director Joseph Cirasuolo praised Robinson's leadership, which has won accolades from administrators across the nation through an unprecedented tragedy.

Cirasuolo wrote a harsh letter, criticizing Newtown Board of Education Chairman Debbie Leidlein for her handling of what he said appeared to be a misunderstanding with Robinson over a conversation related to a waiver of the state mastery test scheduled for next month.

Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/State-schools-executive-rebukes-Newtown-Board-of-4262980.php

 

[Darkman00]

Newtown Music Project features a few Sandy Hook children but there is no formal connection with the school

Controversy as Newtown children's choir is revealed to have no connection to Sandy Hook and is run by former high school teacher accused of stealing

• The choir in question is not the one which sang at the Super Bowl with Jennifer Hudson - those children are from Sandy Hook Elementary

• Newtown Music Project features a few Sandy Hook children but there is no formal connection with the school

• Choir has appeared on Good Morning America and will be on the Grammy's

• It is led by teacher Sabrina Post who says GMA asked her to set it up

By Lydia Warren

PUBLISHED:18:38 GMT, 8 February 2013| UPDATED: 18:41 GMT, 8 February 2013

Organisers of a Newtown children's choir that has appeared on Good Morning America are facing accusations they have misled the public - as the group has no formal connection to Sandy Hook.

While the Newtown Music Project features a handful of children from the school, it is organised independently and led by a teacher who quit her job at a Newtown high school after she was accused of theft.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Hook-students-run-employee-stole-school.html
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[Darkman00]

Controversy Bubbles Up Over Newtown Children's Choir

February 07, 2013|By MATTHEW STURDEVANT, JENNY WILSON and DAVE ALTIMARI, msturdevant@courant.com, The Hartford Courant

Read more: http://articles.courant.com/2013-02...ntendent-janet-robinson-newtown-youth-academy

 

[i.b.nora]

I think what's most concerning about this new choir is that it seems to have been manufactured by ABC Good Morning America. Post's crimes against the school district were almost eight years ago. Presumably she has repaid the school district the $11,000 she agreed to repay them. Since when don't we give people a second chance after non violent crimes? Must they repay for the rest of their lives?

Too many politics now at work in Newtown at the expense of people who seem to just be going about their business. The Board of Education in Newtown hates Janet Robinson and last year they failed to renew her contract which I think will be up this year. So, somehow that is playing into all of this.

 

[Darkman00]

If she did repay the $11,000 and the choir is "manufactured" by ABC Good Morning America ... - there is a good chance she will get some of it "back", if not more... in a long run, that is.