Gunman kills two and wounds more at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist in Knoxville. According to the Knoxville police chief, "It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated hatred of the liberal movement."

Caitlin Lee died in a car crash last night. Caitlin was a very cool kid in my congregation -- her own parents suffered extensive injuries in a nasty accident of their own a couple years ago. Hearing about Caitlin doing what needed to be done and witnessing her growing up into a confident and capable young woman was a joy.

On a far happier note, I finally had an opportunity to attend morning worship at the Unitarian Universalist fellowship in the county where I grew up. They're in a bright new building that they recently purchased from the Jehovah's Witnesses, and having their own space has helped the congregation grow significantly. There were both wildflowers and gardenflowers on the chalice table, a windowed room (interior visible to the sanctuary) for childcare/RE, a spread of snacks in the lobby, and a twinkly-eyed greeter (Bob Stebbins) who had helped found the fellowship (back in 1978) and to whom the group sang "Happy Birthday" (inadvertently as a round, which amused him greatly -- one man cheerfully shouted "That's 'cause we were trying to figure out how old you are!"). Ann Stebbins (Bob's wife) led a thought-provoking homily/discussion on pilgrimage (speaking of her journeys to Costa Rica, and of learning to speak Spanish at the age of 52, she said, "What began as an escape turned into a love affair"); the hymnal I opened had been donated by an aunt of a friend, and afterwards I got to chat with Dot Sutton, which was a delight (she is an EKU professor and poet who encouraged me with my writing when I was a kid -- and I wasn't even one of her students! I have been so lucky to know such giving people).