Following Church explosions, Las Crucens must come together

COMMENTARY: “These are not firecrackers. These devices were intended, I believe, to do harm, and could have done harm to people.”

Those were the words spoken by New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas at a news conference outside Calvary Baptist Church in Las Cruces on Sunday evening. He and Gov. Susana Martinez made clear that the devices that exploded at Calvary Baptist and Holy Cross Catholic Church on Sunday morning were “improved explosive devices” — weapons that could have caused real harm.

The device that exploded in a rubber trash can in the Holy Cross entryway shattered the glass doors. Imagine if people had been walking through those doors when it happened.

To be clear, Kassetas stopped short of calling these “bombs” and calling the event “terrorism.” His words when asked about possible terrorism: “I wouldn’t rule anything out yet but it’s early in the investigation and we’re still developing leads.”

In short, we know this was more than kids setting off fireworks. We know that these devices could have caused serious harm. But we don’t know who did this or why.

The situation hit home for me. I attended Calvary Baptist for a time in college. My girlfriend attends Holy Cross. She wasn’t there when the device exploded, fortunately.

The pastor at First Baptist Church, which is located in my neighborhood, stopped services mid-sermon and evacuated the building. As I was driving by that church soon after that I saw a black, unmarked law enforcement vehicle cruising my neighborhood.

Law enforcement blanketed Las Cruces on Sunday. An El Paso Police Department officer circled the block during an evening interfaith prayer vigil at Pioneer Park downtown. I saw a vehicle with a U.S. Homeland Security Department logo heading to Holy Cross.

“If your intention was to bring fear to those who worship, you have failed,” Martinez said at the news conference outside Calvary Baptist. “Our faith is too strong and our fellowship is unbreakable.”

I know it’s common to say people who try to spread fear failed — but that doesn’t make it true. I talked to people who were scared on Sunday.

Instead, the words that resonated for me came from Reverend Linda Mervine of First Christian Church. She said at the evening prayer service that the explosions remind us all we’re vulnerable.

We must respond to such situations with compassion, Mervine said.

On Sunday, two explosions shook Las Cruces congregations. Also on Sunday, a hundred or more people from varying faiths gathered at a park to pray. There were parishioners from Holy Cross and Calvary Baptist. There were Methodists and Lutherans and Jews and Muslims and Unitarians. There were some non-religious people too.

People came together.

The service was religious and a couple of non-religious folks said they felt out of place. I’m sympathetic to that. But this wasn’t an event put on by the city. It was held by an interfaith group. Churches were targeted, and people of faith needed to come together to pray.

This was Las Cruces’ most significant attempt to look Sunday’s fear in the face and overcome as a community. And it was powerful.

I write a lot at NMPolitics.net about the dangers of today’s divisive climate. I rail against us-versus-them thinking. I believe we must work to find common ground, no matter how difficult. If we can’t address our challenges together we’re headed for disaster.

Sunday’s events only strengthened my resolve. I have no idea who set off these explosive devices or why. But I’m grateful no one was hurt. The day could have been much, much worse.

And my determination to foster bridge-building dialogue has never been stronger.

“We will not let fear take hold of us in our daily activities,” Martinez said Sunday. On that point I agree. Fear divides us. Our strength comes from community. Let’s move forward together.