Thursday, October 19, 2006

Heartbreaking

In their own newspaper, Amish reach out, thank outside world for reaction to shootings

By CHRIS A. COUROGEN

Every Monday for more than 30 years, the Millersburg-based Die Botschaft newspaper has gone into the mailboxes of Amish sub scribers nationwide.

Filled with letters from correspondents across the country, the weekly publication prints information from the Amish, for the Amish.

This week's issue, though, is an exception. The front page of Die Botschaft reaches out to the English -- non-Amish -- world.

"Thank You," reads the simple headline at the top of the page.

Under that is a three-paragraph message thanking the state police and emergency crews for their handling of the Oct. 2 Amish school shootings in Lancaster County. Gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV killed five girls and injured five others before killing himself.

The message also thanks members of both the English and Amish communities for their kind acts in the aftermath of the tragedy, and thanks people around the world for their donations and prayers on behalf of the victims and their families.

"It has never happened before. Never. This is very unusual," said the paper's editor, Elam Lapp, when asked when Die Botschaft last printed information aimed at the non-Amish community.

Equally unusual was Lapp's decision to contact a reporter at a non-Amish newspaper, offering a copy of the publication.

The Amish customarily do not seek attention. In this instance, an exception was made in order to reach the world with the message of thanks, Lapp said. That decision was made by a committee that oversees the paper, and it had the approval of an Amish bishop, he said.

"There really is no other way for us to reach out, except through the media. We could have printed the message the way we did, but if [the media] didn't pick it up, who is going to see it?" Lapp said.

The front page of this week's Die Botschaft -- which means "The Message" -- also carries a prayer, two verses of the hymn "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be" and a short message on forgiveness.

The front of the paper's second section is filled with "Thoughts From Our Grieving Community." Those messages were excerpted from letters from the paper's network of correspondents.

Inside the paper are obituaries for the five dead girls and a call for showers of cards and letters for the families of girls who were shot.

Absent are in-depth news accounts of the shootings. Even most of the reports from correspondents in the Paradise and Georgetown areas give few details.

The most gripping of those letters, from Enos K. Miller, grandfather of two of the girls killed, recounts the struggle to identify the children and the race to the hospitals where they were taken.

Other newspapers might have carried such an account on the front page under a huge headline. But Miller's story was found near the bottom of page 48 of the 60-page paper, with no special headline, just bold type denoting where the report was from. Every item in the paper is treated the same.

None of the details of the scene in the schoolhouse, prevalent in non-Amish media, appear in Die Botschaft.

"Everybody knows what happened. Why did we need to put it in the newspaper? We need to pick up the pieces and heal," Lapp said.

"We like to think about, dwell on, things that relate to healing and forgiveness, not to go back and dwell on the actual event."

CHRIS A. COUROGEN: 255-8112 or ccourogen@patriot-news.com

INFOBOX:

EXCERPTS FROM MONDAY'S DIE BOTSCHAFT

I feel at a loss of words and what to write because of the tragedy that took place here in our community.

On Monday morning Emma and I went to Georgetown to work at Dad's store. It was a clear, cool, quiet, peaceful morning. We met school children walking to school. They have and had an early morning smile.

Just before 11 a.m. Georgetown's squad, medic, went up Rt. 806. I didn't think much of it. Then a couple of police cars. I thought of an accident. About five minutes later the sirens went and the rescue truck went up the road. Then more police cars one after the other. ...Then a couple helicopters started circling. What's going on?

It didn't take long until someone came down the road and stopped to tell us what it is and I was not ready for what I heard.

Words cannot describe the helpless feeling that went through my stomach.

-- -- --

A knot like this was in my stomach five years ago when planes flew into the world trade towers and I found out my parents were there that morning. It also was a cool, beautiful, sunny morning. We just never know what is lurking around the corner that will change our lives forever.

Levi and Liz Fisher, Quarryville

We will heal and get over [this] happening, but I don't think we'll ever be quite the same again. ... Our thoughts and sympathy are with all of you.

Miriam Z. King, Quarryville

Yes, whatever comes we must trust God is beside us. We were at three of the viewings in Lancaster. Our neighbors for 20 years in Nickel Mines. It is so heartbreaking and we can't think of anything else.

But we have to go on, we can't stop. We took dad and mom King to the viewings as Benuels and Abners were busy helping to get ready for the three funerals.

It nearly broke your heart to see their sweet faces, what a blessing that they could view them. We need to pray, pray for these parents and their children.

Ephraim and Katie King, Northumberland County

Monday morning was such a beautiful morning when around 11:00 we heard sirens and soon helicopters were all over the neighborhood that you had to wonder what was going on. An English lady soon came and said there was a shooting out by Nickel Mines, but in our wildest thoughts we could not have imagined anything like this.

At Christ and Rachel Miller's (Rachel is my cousin) it was their two oldest children, Mary Liz, almost nine, and Lena, age seven, we were to that viewing and you still just couldn't grasp it.

Mrs. Samuel F. Zook, Christiana

Another beautiful morning we are shared after a good nights rest. My head was sort of full of the nice hymns that were sung last evening and then every morning as I awake my thought with the families that parted with their dear innocent girls and some are to recover. Such a sad affair for all of us. Many tears have been shed and many prayers have been said, and gone to our Lord, so full of love and mercy He is, and He sees us through our trials and whatever we face. Let us be thankful and cling to him.

Sarah Glick, Lancaster