Newtown pastor sees pain as path to healing

7:00 A.M. Dec. 19, 2012 | NEWTOWN, Conn. (UMNS)

Flag of Honor provides a makeshift memorial for the 20 children and six adults who died on Dec. 14, 2012, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
A UMNS photo by Arthur McClanahan. View in Photo Gallery

The Rev. Mel Kawakami, senior pastor of Newtown United Methodist Church, has the difficult duty of shepherding his flock through the anguish of the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
Two 7-year-olds from the congregation were among the 20 children and six adults who were killed Dec. 14 in the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Kawakami, who has served the Newtown church since 2008, found himself on Dec. 15 rewriting a sermon that he had expected to accompany the church Christmas pageant.
After the second worship service Dec. 16, Kawakami shared his thoughts with his friend of more than two decades, the Rev. Arthur McClanahan, now a member of the Iowa Annual (regional) Conference and the conference communicator.
McClanahan is a former clergy member in the New York Annual (regional) Conference, which includes the Newtown area. McClanahan had been in the northeast for the last week reporting on the devastation from Hurricane Sandy. He was in Connecticut the day of the shooting and went to Newtown on behalf of United Methodist News Service.

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