Lucy Ruth shared her thoughts on the police-involved shooting of Jacob Blake in her hometown of Kenosha and the violence that ensued.

Filling in for the Rev. Msgr. Kevin Holmes as a guest columnist for his Alleluia! feature in Madison’s Cathedral Parish Sept. 6 church bulletin, she recalled how she was told about the shooting when she arrived in Kenosha.

“This event turned the city upside down," Ruth said in the bulletin. "Alerts were sent to our cell phones telling people to stay home. Updates were sent that business windows were smashed and looting and armed robberies were reported." 

She added that as she left the city, she listened to a local radio station and was disappointed by what she heard. 

“It gave me a sick feeling to hear my city being overrun by hate and destruction,” she said. Still, she ended by stating that she found hope in the bloom of three Easter lilies that surpassed circumstances and flourished. 

“While fires smoldered and Kenoshans braced themselves for a third night of turmoil, those lilies gave me comfort and reminded me that God is with us," she said. "We should not despair; there is hope."