Dear congregants and friends,
As you may know, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch and Stephen Wise Free Synagogue are members of A Partnership of Faith in New York City, a very important citywide interfaith group which today issued the below joint statement in response to shootings across the United States:
With one united voice, we, the undersigned members of a Partnership of Faith in New York City, deplore the mass shooting of innocent people in Gilroy, California last week and in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio this past weekend. We vow to stand together with the people of these communities in their grief and in their resolve to end the escalating plague of gun violence in our nation.
We are particularly dismayed that, as of this writing, two of these incidents are the result of growing white nationalism. We vow to stand together with people of other faith traditions and with communities targeted by domestic terrorists, in opposing this rising scourge in our land.
As colleagues and leaders of faith communities in New York City, we have learned from each of our traditions the importance of solidarity. Each of our traditions espouses some version of love for neighbor.
Struggling together with the challenges of our city’s diversity, we have come to the conclusion that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We are committed to standing together and convinced that solidarity with others is an important public expression commended to us in each of our faith traditions.
We implore our elected representatives in cities, states, and the country to address the issues of gun violence in meaningful ways. For too long, the lives of innocent people are sacrificed in a society that does not address the dangers of domestic terrorism and easy access to guns.
As we worship with our colleagues and congregants at services in these days, we pray as a public sign of our commitment to one another, as a public rejection of all acts of gun violence, and as a clear expression commit ourselves to work together for justice, peace, and unity for all. We invite all to join us.
A PARTNERSHIP OF FAITH IN NEW YORK CITY
119 West 72nd Street, #208 – New York, NY 10023
Facebook: @A Partnership of Faith NYC, Twitter: @FaithPartnersNY
Rev. Dr. Stephen P. Bauman, Co-Chair
Christ United Methodist Church
Rabbi Joshua Davidson, Co-Chair
Congregation Emanu-el
Rev. Amandus J. Derr
Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church
Imam Talib W. ‘Abdur-Rashid
The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood
Dr. Ibrahim Abdul Malik
North Hudson Islamic Center
Imam Shamsi Ali
Jamaica Muslim Center
Rabbi Rachel Ain
Sutton Place Syn.
Rev. Dr. Michael Bos
Marble Collegiate Church
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
Central Synagogue
Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry
House of the Lord Church
Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove
Park Ave. Synagogue
Rev. Dr. Cathy Gilliard
Park Ave. UM Church
Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich
Unitarian Church of All Souls
Imam Dr. Muhammad Hatim
Admiral Family Islamic Circle
Rev. Eric Hall
HealthCare Chaplaincy Network
Rev. Matthew Heyd
Church of the Heavenly Rest
Fr. Brian McWeeney
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch
Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Rev. Brenda Husson
St. James’ Church
Rabbi Peter Rubinstein
92nd St. Y & Central Synagogue
