Former Covenant church pastor calls for love, forgiveness after reporter asks about gun control in wake of Nashville shooting
The former pastor of the church associated with the school where a mass shooting took place on Monday did not advocate for more gun laws but instead said society needed to love and to learn how to disagree.
Hundreds of people in the Nashville community are coming together to assemble Easter baskets for The Covenant School families following the tragic school shooting that took place at the Christian school on March 27, resulting in the deaths of six innocent people — three children and three adults.
Christy Wright, an author and mom of three, teamed up with a group of mothers and volunteers to help distribute the baskets in hopes to give Covenant families one less thing to worry about.
Wright, whose children attend a nearby school that's affiliated with Covenant, said the initiative kicked off after a local mother reached out to her asking for help assembling an Easter basket for one Covenant family.
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"I just had the idea, ‘Why don’t we make Easter baskets for everyone in the school?'" Wright recalled to Fox News Digital.
Over 450 volunteers throughout the city of Nashville are coming together to honor the families of The Covenant School by assembling and delivering Easter baskets. (Meagan Little Photography)
Nearly 500 Nashville residents came forward to volunteer and give back to those impacted by the tragedy.
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Wright created an online form – allowing families to share their children's desires, favorite toys and characters, which is then anonymously sent to a volunteer that will create a basket completely customized for each child.
"The heart behind this idea is so that all of these families are not worried about providing an Easter basket for these kids when they are still attending funerals."
The identity of each child is confidential, so the volunteers do not know who they are making a basket for.
"It's a balance of trying to let [Covenant families] know this is available so that they're not stressed and trying to shop for Easter three days before Easter, [and] at the same time respecting their privacy," Wright commented.
The city of Nashville is honoring the families of The Covenant School by giving back to them in a "practical" way — assembling and delivering Easter baskets. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital)
Volunteers have also begun to build generic baskets that can be chosen by any family in the Covenant community, Wright noted.
"The heart behind this idea is so that all of these families are not worried about providing an Easter basket for these kids when they are still attending funerals," Wright shared.
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Wright sees the volunteer effort as a "practical way to meet needs" for the families involved.
Wright has calculated upwards of 600 baskets have already been delivered to those in the Covenant community.
"Every parent wants to get their child an Easter basket on Easter morning…I just love that it is so practical. It is a practical thing they don't have to worry about," Wright continued.
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"The Covenant families are overwhelmed with gratitude that they don't have to worry about this [and] the volunteers are overwhelmed with gratitude that there is a practical way to serve these families," Wright said.
Wright is encouraging the volunteers to "pray over [their] basket before it goes in the hands of that child."
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Wright hopes this effort encourages others to "feel permission to go do something."
The Nashville community has come together to build Easter baskets for the families of The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital/Meagan Little Photography)
"When you see a need, don't look around for someone else to fill it. Fill it yourself."
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