ELCA offers prayers for family, friends of pedestrian killed in Wisconsin

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) are extending prayers for the family and friends of a
pedestrian killed April 7 in Sun Prairie, Wis., and for the Rev. Bruce H.
Burnside, bishop of the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin. Reports
indicate that Burnside’s vehicle hit the pedestrian. He was arrested and
taken into custody.
“We offer our prayers for the woman who lost her life in this
tragedy. Nothing can undo this terrible accident. Our hope is for God’s
comfort for the survivors,” said the Rev. Jessica R. Crist, chair of the
ELCA Conference of Bishops and bishop of the ELCA Montana Synod.
“At a time of such deep sorrow for the family and friends of the
woman who died, for the members of the ELCA South-Central Synod of
Wisconsin, for Bishop Burnside and his family and for the wider
community, we are held in the promise that nothing will separate us from
the love of God in Christ Jesus, and we are joined in our prayers for all
who suffer,” said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop.
In a statement from the ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin,
leaders and members expressed their sorrow “and dismay in sympathy for
the victim and for her family. We ask for prayers for the victim's family
and for everyone affected by this situation.
“In this difficult time, when words are challenging to find, we
trust in the presence of the Holy Spirit to be with us, and in God's
abiding love to sustain us.”
Prayer resources are available on the synod’s website at
http://www.scsw-ELCA.org.
The ELCA South-Central Synod of Wisconsin comprises of 145
congregations in 13 counties in south-central Wisconsin.