Grace Cathedral and Congregation Emanu-El Joint Statement on Christchurch shooting

Grace Cathedral and Congregation Emanu-El stand with the Christchurch Muslim community, our New Zealand friends and the Muslim community of San Francisco in their time of grief and mourning. This type of violence and the hate that motivates it is unacceptable in any country and people of all faiths worldwide have a responsibility to stand up and say no. No one should fear for their safety when attending their house of worship.

This tragedy occurred on Friday afternoon when the mosque was filled with people who gathered for Friday prayers, just as the Pittsburgh killer attacked Jews at their synagogue, and the Charleston killer attacked an African American Church. This type of violence is driven by racial, religious, and ethnic hatred. Every person of faith has a responsibility to denounce this in the strongest possible terms.

In the wake of this terrible attack, we call on our Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters to commit themselves to oppose Islamophobia and to demonstrate acts of solidarity with their Muslim neighbors, co-workers, and others just as we stand against anti-Semitism and hatred against Christians or any person of faith.

We affirm our human solidarity with our Muslim sisters and brothers, inheritors with us of the Abrahamic faith and our belief that every individual on this planet, no matter their color, faith or sexual orientation, is a reflection of the Holy and deserves to live in safety and in freedom.

Clergy & Leadership of Grace Cathedral and Congregation Emanu-El