Prayers are not enough!

We grieve with and pray for those whose lives have been ripped apart by recent hateful acts of terror, but prayers are not enough.

Hate permeated last week, beginning with the news of pipe bombs sent through the mail. Then, last Wednesday, two African-Americans were killed at a Kroger in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, after the gunman tried and failed to enter First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown, a predominantly African-American church. On Saturday, eleven innocent congregants were killed in the deadliest attack in American history on the Jewish community. We grieve with and pray for those whose lives have been ripped apart by these hateful acts of terror.

But our prayers are NOT ENOUGH!

It’s time to put an end to the hateful rhetoric that keeps coming from the highest office in the land. This country does not belong to one group of people. We are all God’s children. We all deserve to worship, go to school, go to the grocery store and drive down the expressway without fear of being gunned down. People of faith must no longer be silent! We must speak truth to power!

We can take action today. Hate groups want to take away our humanity, to make us see someone of a different race, religion or sexual orientation as sub-human. Hate has no place in our communities, our city, our nation, our hearts. We must say "no more." Let’s be intentional in spreading love and understanding to each other. Let’s channel our collective pain into collective power. Arming clergy and congregants is not the answer. Let’s take back our humanity by working together to pass sensible gun laws.

Together, using our voice and our vote, we can drown out the sound of hateful rhetoric from every political office, social media account and in our communities with cries for justice.