After massacre, worshipers ask God 'Why?'
An unusually high number of people pack churches in Blacksburg, Va., seeking comfort and answers.
By Miguel Bustillo and Erika Hayasaki, Times Staff Writers
April 23, 2007

BLACKSBURG, VA. — The tissue boxes were neatly laid on every wooden pew, but there were none on the pulpit, so Tommy McDearis wiped his tears away with the back of his hand.

The pastor of Blacksburg Baptist Church also served as a police chaplain, and after last week's shootings at Virginia Tech, he had to tell 20 families that their children were gone. He had to console the homicide detectives and SWAT team members who saw the blood-soaked classrooms, the wounded and the dead.

Through it all, McDearis told his congregation Sunday morning, he struggled to control his emotions — to understand how God could let something so vile happen to so many good people. the rest