STANDING AGAINST HATE AND VIOLENCE
As faith leaders from a number of traditions — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Universalist, secular humanist, Buddhist — we have grown too accustomed to writing about acts of hate and terrorism.
And yet here we are again.
Just this year,
› We have stood in prayer and solidarity following the shootings perpetrated by a white nationalist at Linwood Islamic Centre and Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.
› We have mourned as the sanctuaries of St. Mary Baptist Church, Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church were burned by a white nationalist in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana.
› We have awakened to the shocking news of the Easter bombings, perpetrated by Islamic extremist groups in Sri Lanka: the Shrine of St. Anthony in Kotahena, Colombo, the Catholic Church of St. Sebastian in Negombo, the Zion Church of Batticaloa, as well as restaurants and hotels across the country.
And now, we find ourselves praying and mourning again, following another act of terror by a white nationalist who opened fire at the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in San Diego.
Outraged by these horrific acts, we join with one voice:
› We condemn these acts of terror and violence.
› We condemn the violent, twisted ideologies that mistake our wisdom traditions for vehicles of hate.
› We condemn violent fundamentalism and violence motivated by religious bigotry.
› We condemn the sin of white nationalism.
Tethered close together by our care for all people, we raise our shared voice:
› We affirm that we as humans are equally created in the image of the Divine, and that supremacy belongs only to the Divine, not to any ideological perspective, racial or ethnic group.
› We call upon people of all faiths to consider how they, even unknowingly, participate in the spread of prejudice, or passively allow baseless hate to endure.
› We acknowledge that we do not have to be guilty to be responsible, and so we embrace the challenge of stemming the growing tide of fear which has too often led to violence, especially against religious, ethnic and racial minority groups.
Peace will only come when all of God’s children learn to live side by side, better understanding and celebrating our differences with gratitude and loving acceptance of one another.
We commit to building that peace, salam, shalom.
And so we are here.
We hope you will join us.
Rev. Dr. Thomas O. Bagley
Rev. Laura Becker Rev. Jocelyn Bell Rev. April Berends Pastor Troy Brand Rev. Claire Brown Rev. Suzanne Burch Rev. Margaret M. Caldwell
Rev. Alaina Cobb Rt. Rev. Brian L. Cole Pastor Jeff P. Crim Iris DeLaPaz
Rev. Jason Emerson Rev. Gary England Rev. Brandon Gilvin Rev. Anna Golladay Rev. David R. Hackett Rev. Derrick C. Hill Rev. Kim A. Hobby Jonathan Hyde Bassam Issa
Rev. Leyla K. King Rev. Betty Latham Rabbi Craig Lewis Rev. Carol Howard Merritt
Rev. Charles Neal
Rev. Janice Robbins Rev. Fayann M. Schmidt
Rev. Perry Scruggs Rev. Judd Shaw Josh R. Singh
Rev. Christopher A. Smith
Rev. Kate Stulce Rev. John D. Talbird Jr. Rabbi Susan Tendler Rev. Dr. Clay Thomas Rev. Dr. E. Jonathan Thomas
Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas
Rev. Katharine Howe Toledano
Rev. Martha Louisa Tucker
Rev. James Wallace Rev. Joshua Weaver Rev. Ann G. Weeks Rev. Brad Whitaker Rev. Dr. Christal L. Williams
Rev. Scott Williamson Rev. Joe Woodfin Rev. Candace A. Worth