All members of the Cincinnati Christian University family are united in support of Dr. Jodie Edwards, her husband, Chris and their family and friends in this awful time of grief. The death of Jenna is a profound tragedy that has broken everyone’s heart.
Dr. Edwards is an esteemed colleague on the Cincinnati Christian University faculty. She is a brilliant thinker, accomplished scholar, caring clinician and beloved teacher. But more than that, she is a loving, devoted wife and mother. We affirm our deep love and respect for her as a fellow professor, friend and sister in Christ as she grieves with her husband, family and friends. This terrible accident is more than the heart can bear or words can express.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we rely moment by moment on his grace and mercy. We believe in what the Apostle Paul called “the peace that passes all understanding” and the one whom he called “the God of all comfort.” We ask the public to join us in praying for God’s peace and comfort for Jodie, Chris and their family.
9 comments:
Andrea told me about this yesterday; she was almost weeping. Our hearts are absolutely broken for the Edwards family and for CCU. You are all in our prayers during this time.
We are praying for the Edwards and for the CCU family. May God see you all through this time with His great love.
Thanks to SWNID for posting this as we may not have heard this news from far outside the Cincinnati area.
It is tragic news and the whole situation requires all sorts of prayers to be prayed. God will do many things throughout this issue but most importantly He will be present as ever. My family adds prayer as well for the comfort of the Edwards family.
As my husband relayed this message, I could hardly imagine the pain felt by Dr. Edwards and her family. Please know that you are in our prayers. May God give you his supernatural strength, and peace in this time of pain and sorrow.
Lee and Keisha Morgan
I vote that the prior comment be deleted by SWNID for insensitivity in a time of deep grief for a fellow believer. SWNID and all the other comments rightly "mourn with those who mourn" as members of one body. I, too, will be in prayer for the family, though I do not know them personally.
SWNID, if indeed you delete the comment to which mine refers, you may feel free to delete mine as well, which will then look out of place.
Anonymous, you will note that in fact all that is called for is prayer and united support. No opinion on punitive measures is stated. Nowhere does the author of this post neglect the responsibility that Dr. Edwards will inevitably take for this tragedy, be it legal or otherwise. Certainly she would gladly go to jail, give up her career, give her life were she able to undo this tragedy.
Note also that prayer for the family would be the appropriate Christian response if this had happened to any person, educated or not.
Agreed. The thing that is making the situation worse is people who are callously flinging judgements when they do not know all of the facts of the situation. I keep hearing people make a big deal that "ooh she's a doctor at a university!" Seriously if you work at CCU it most certainly is not for the money or prestige, it's because you truly believe in the institution and want to be there. Half the comments I've read on the local news websites come from people who sound like they've not even read the entire article but only skimmed bits & pieces.
It's so easy to judge people (we do it everyday) when it's not a situation that directly affects you. It makes me wonder how the people who are saying such awful things would react if a close friend or family member were in a similar situation. Right now I just feel overwhelming sadness for the Edwards as well as the entire CCU family. I realize this has deeply affected everyone involved, my heart & prayers go out to you all.
To those who responded to the callous and cruel comments of anonymous in a time of great grief and pain, I thank you. To the anonymous writer who chose to deliberately misinterpret the words of SWNID, I must conclude that you have never known mercy and grace in your own life and have never known the love and compassion of Jesus. More's the pity. Someday you or someone you know may need that love and mercy and compassion. Will you be so quick to dismiss it then?
Had you held Jodie in your arms as she sobbed or had seen the loving photos of her family and looked into her eyes, perhaps you would not be so quick to judge. Perhaps you would. You have obviously made a judgment that SWNID would automatically judge a person who worked at Hooters. How do you know? My guess is that he would pray for that person as well. And if you are claiming to be a perfect parent, congratulations. The rest of us cannot make the same claim. And just for the record, Jodie is among the least self-absorbed people any of us know.
We've deleted the offensive comment (which before deletion appeared right after Keisha's, as a reference point in the discussion) to which many gentle readers have made pointed and appropriate response. We will leave the responses up, more or less as a warning to all who pass this way:
Do not mess with the SWNIDish community.
On the side, our heart is comforted by the many words of kindness and sympathy that have been shared from all over the city and all over the world. Don't let the turkeys get you down, gentle readers!
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