The York Daily Record reports on a interfaith meeting that took place this week to talk about the lessons from the horrific Amish school shooting that left five girls and the shooter dead. All there spoke about the forgiveness of the Amish, and how forgiveness manifested in their own lives. This included local Pagan Nancy Worley, who’s husband was a victim of Lebanese terrorists.

Nancy Worley, right, talks with Rabbi Irwin Goldenberg
(Bil Bowden – YDR)

“Nancy Worley, a representative of the Pagan community, said that, after more than 20 years, it was time to share her feelings about the impact hate had on her life and family after the death of her husband at the hands of terrorists during the conflict in Lebanon. She was left a young widow, with two young sons. ‘I was so deeply affected by the senseless- ness of it,’ she said. ‘It was the kind of thing that you can’t run away from, can’t hide from. I wished for peace, and the only way I could get that was through total forgiveness.’ Allowing the wound to fester, she said, would have prevented her from dealing with the grief. It would have ‘killed me. I never could have moved on.’”

While most likely not planned by the reporter, this honest expression of Pagan faith is a strong reminder that ideas of forgiveness or grace are not exclusive to the dominant monotheisms. Thanks to Nancy Worley for telling her story, and thanks to Jeffrey Roth of the York Daily Record for letting that voice be heard.

Tags: Paganism