Comments on the Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting

October 28, 2018

This morning on a call with friends, we wept together.
After hearing the news of Tree of Life synagogue, I noticed that I felt disjointed. I still do feel a dull aching all over my body. I feel a deep sorrow. On our morning call when a friend expressed her hurt, I realized that I was not alone in this feeling of deep grief and pain. We are not Jewish and do not worship at a temple. Yet, we are human and have a bigger dream of what we want this world to be for ourselves and every human being.

These brutal murders do not fit the world I dream of.
I thought of the families and friends of those who were killed in such a brutal way and my heart hurt for them. I thought of my friends who are Jewish and my love for them and the pain I feel for their loss.
I also wept for the loss that we as humans experience when we live in a world when such a thing happens.

I also remembered the citizens who were killed in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Charleston massacre. Like those at Tree of Life synagogue, many of them were elders, perhaps, amongst those in the congregation who were pillars of their community and faith. Those who were and remain, treasured by members of their community.

And, I could not help but remember Rwanda. As I interviewed survivors, one who shared that everyone thought they would be safe in the churches. Churches were the “no war” zone. Yet, people were killed, thousands, in churches.
I thought of the messages I received growing up that there were some places which were sacred ground: our homes, our schools, and our places of worship. As a child, I would not even think of throwing a small candy wrapper on the floor of the sanctuary. In these times, it seems that all that many hold sacred, has been violated.