Nickel Mines Remembered

Five years after an emotionally troubled truck driver seized an Amish school house killing 5 Amish school girls and wounding 5 others before turning the gun on himself, Elizabetown College hosted a conference entitled ""The Power of Forgiveness: Lessons from Nickel Mines."

The tragedy, which saw Parkesburg fire, EMT and police called into action, was remembered at the conference not so much for the horrible loss of life, recriminations or anguish, but for the remarkable spirit of forgiveness that emulated out of the Amish community just hours after the event.

At the conference a presenter read a note from a parent of one of the children wounded in the incident, describing how the surviving girls are doing:

"Four are doing well, while one — Rosanna King, now 11 — suffers the consequences of brain trauma.  Emotionally, it has been a roller coaster ride the last five years for everybody, but it seems as if all are doing as well as can be expected,"

The world saw first hand the Amish' remarkable spirit of forgiveness.  The sun had not set on that horrible day when Elders from the Nickel Mines Amish community visited the living room of the gunman's widow comforting her and offering their condolences and heartfelt sorrow.  As one speaker at the conference noted:

"Forgiveness is a way of life.  It is, at heart, a set of communal practices."

Read the entire article about the conference in this morning's LancasterOnline .