Nearly a year after a shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville that left three adults and three children dead, students and their families have formed tight bonds out of their shared grief.
Chaplain of The Covenant School Matthew Sullivan stands in the school's church sanctuary where he lead chapel service in the past, Friday, March 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. Facing the first anniversary of a tragic shooting which left six people dead, the school, which has been meeting in a temporary location, prepares to move back into the building where it happened. , the students and their families have formed tight bonds out of their shared suffering. They’ve also adopted a lot of dogs.
“It’s been an incredible cementing of community,” he said. “Prayer groups have formed of moms, then of dads, and these people — that’s now in their weekly routine without fail. Like, they can’t miss it. They don’t want to miss it.” “What we’ve been dealing with is just how to do school again, how to be myself, how to feel relaxed at school. What do I do when I’m freaking out? What was that loud noise?” he said.
“So, you know, I kind of never take a sick day. I have not taken a sick day since everything happened, but I just try to just kind of be here as a presence and a voice,” he said.In addition to morning chapel, Sullivan also teaches Bible study where he says the class that lost three students has become “very tender to my heart.” Surprisingly few of the children have transferred to other schools, he said. “So a lot of them have gone deeper here, which is really sweet.
Not all Covenant families agree on gun issues. But in addition to his work with the children, Sullivan said he has supported a group of parents that have become vocal supporters of firearm safety as they have tried to make their voices heard at the state Capitol. It’s an experience he describes as being “like a very long nightmare where you’re screaming for help and nobody’s coming.”
Asked whether her family also adopted a dog, she laughed and said, “Oh yeah! We got a reject chihuahua named Aster.” Chihuahuas don't typically make great comfort dogs, she said, but her son bonded with Aster, and he joined the family.
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