JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Often times after a tragedy, one might say the phrase "thoughts and prayers". It has been said numerous times after mass shootings. However, more than ever, people want to see elected officials do more. Even local religious leaders expressed how they want to see a change.
Saying "you are in my thoughts and prayers" is a kind thing to say to someone. The phrase is used as a condolence. But on the heels of mass shootings that occurred in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, Pastors Kim Pullings and Mack Knight believe it does not hold weight.
Knight, the pastor of Impact Worship Center in Kingsland, Georgia, brought up how saying 'thoughts and prayers' is a way to express empathy. To Knight, the phrase is cliché. It's something he suggests to his congregation to not say. Instead he recommended "Please know I'm here for you" or "I love you, please accept my condolences."
"When we put an action to it and say 'you're in my thoughts and prayers,' that's a responsibility," Knight said. "Are you really thinking about the people? Are you really praying?"
Pastor Kim Pullings, Live Church in Jacksonville, said there should be action after prayer.
"I think that I pray a lot and I ask God for greater wisdom because I want to know how to respond. I want to know what my actions should be. So, for me, it's always on the side of advocacy," Pastor Pullings said.
Pullings encourages people to work with faith. Meaning, put in the work towards what one is praying for. To Pullings, there are things "He's requiring us to do and we have to be willing do those things." She references scripture that reads "faith without work is dead".
After the recent tragedies, Pastor Knight said his prayer for society is for people to get closer to God.
"And if they don't serve the God I know [then] closer to something that's higher than them," Knight said.
