Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher Read Free Book Online Page A

Bank quickly set up two funds: the Nickel Mines Children’s Fund and the Roberts Family Fund. Other banks and charitable organizations also established funds. In one example of the many community fund-raisers that were organized after the tragedy, three thousand motorcyclists came to Lancaster County on a ride named “Because We Care” and raised $34,000 for the families of the victims.
     
    With the avalanche of gifts growing hourly, it soon became clear that coordination was needed. Two days after the shooting, sixteen Amish and English leaders met at the Bart firehouse to develop a response. Within a few hours they had formed the Nickel Mines Accountability Committee and appointed nine men—seven Amish and two English—to serve on it. The leaders elected two Amish men to serve as chair and vice chair and asked Herman Bontrager, a local Mennonite leader, to be the committee’s spokesperson.
     
    “We are not asking for aid, but we will receive it,” the Accountability Committee explained at the outset. The long-standing Amish tradition of mutual aid that encourages members to care for one another in time of need also discourages them from relying too heavily on aid from non-Amish people and outside agencies. For this reason, they reject commercial insurance and, with a few exceptions, do not participate in Social Security. In this case, however, the Nickel Mines shooting trumped tradition. “The whole nation is grieving,” said one Amish leader. “By letting them give, it helps them too.” The committee therefore agreed to accept outside donations so that others wouldn’t be deprived “of the blessing of giving.”
     
    In a public statement released a few days later, the Nickel Mines Accountability Committee thanked the local community for its many expressions of love. “Each act of kindness, the prayers and every gift,” wrote the committee, “comfort us and assure us that our spirits will heal, even though the painful loss will always be with us.” After thanking the standard list of helpers—police, emergency workers, medical providers, and church and community groups—the committee extended its gratitude to one more group, which may have surprised some people: the news media. The media “helped the world grapple with values that are dear to us—forgiveness, nonviolence, mutual care, simplicity,” the committee wrote, and demonstrated many “acts of kindness” even while doing their reporting work. Finally, the committee reported that financial contributions would be used for medical and counseling services, transportation needs, rehabilitation, disability care, “and other expenses resulting from the event.” Within several months of the tragedy, the committee had received $4 million from contributors around the world.
     
    The generosity of neighbors and compassionate strangers around the world stirred a deep sense of gratitude among the Amish. The front-page headline of a weekly Amish newspaper proclaimed “THANK YOU.” The accompanying editorial began with special thanks to the state police commissioner, Jeffrey Miller, for his work during the crisis. The column also extended warm thanks to a host of professionals and volunteers “for their quick action in their protection of our privacy during the days of sorrowing and grief . . . and the many unselfish hours they volunteered to keep law and order in the community.” The editorial ended by thanking “the whole community, both English and Amish, for everything that was done to help carry this burden . . . [and] all people of all nations around the world, for all the donations that have been sent to us and for all the prayers that have been offered on our behalf.”
     
    The parents of one of the deceased girls, in a letter to a Lancaster newspaper, echoed the gratitude: “We will never forget the feelings of protection and comfort it gave us to have the state police protecting us from the hungry media on our way to the burial services