Annunciation parent: Nearly two months later, our lawmakers have yet to act

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

On Aug. 27, after a shooter fired more than 100 bullets in just over a minute at innocent worshipers, my wife and I sat in our home in a state of shock.

That evening, I asked her what she said to her Annunciation kindergartners while she sheltered with them, listening to a parade of sirens: “I just kept telling them, ‘The helpers are coming. The helpers are coming. The helpers are coming.’ ”

The story of the Annunciation comes from the biblical account of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she is to “bear a Son.” But the Annunciation would mean nothing to our faith without the Incarnation, the birth of Christ. And soon after, wise men came to offer gifts to the Christ Child. They traveled great distances across barren land to bear witness to this miraculous birth. The journey was difficult, but they came.

On Aug. 27, the helpers came. With lights and sirens and as fast as their vehicles and feet could take them, they came. The police officers. The paramedics. The firefighters. The doctors and nurses. They all came, and they all helped.

And then the community came. You came to cry and pray and march with us. You opened your spaces for us to grieve and process. You hung ribbons in our neighborhoods. You opened your doors to our kids when school was suspended. Therapists, psychologists, chiropractors, masseuses, therapy dogs — you all came to offer your help and your gifts.

And the helpers continued to come. The archdiocese and sister faith communities came. The Minnesota Department of Education came to help. People from the Washburn Center for Children came and continue to come every day for our kids and staff.

The outpouring of support from all the helpers has overwhelmed our community. Words of gratitude for the way so many helpers have come to our aid seem insufficient. We are forever indebted to all the helpers.

And yet, there is one group of helpers that we are still waiting for. We hope and pray, we call and write, we organize and advocate, imploring them to come to the aid of our community and our kids, and communities and kids everywhere that may experience this pain in the future. We wait for our policymakers to discuss, to collaborate, to find common ground and to take action. But up to this point, that help isn’t here.

It’s an exclusive group, the helpers in this tragedy who have not come. Though called by our principal to find ways to “move your feet,” our policymakers are walking in place. But all that could change. It wouldn’t take all of them, but a few with the courage to be the true helpers. The stakes are high, and it is possible to meet the moment and work together on solutions and progress with the same zeal typically used to hurl blame at the opposition. Our policymakers could take their cues from the legions of helpers listed above who did not hesitate — these helpers came. Not helping was not an option. They moved their feet toward our community in big and small, but meaningful ways, asking nothing in return. We invite each of our policymakers to come together. Consider this an invitation to join the helpers.