[Magdalen] Fwd: Virginia Bishops on Charlottesville: What We Saw, What You Can Do

[Ann Markle]

Thanks for this, Grace. My stomach hurts from the president's comments at
his "infrastructure " press conference today. Al Sharpton is organizing a
march specifically for clergy in Washington on the anniversary of MLK's I
have a dream speech. It's in 2 weeks. I'm thinking of coming for that. I'm
hoping one of the churches, maybe St. Columba's, could help me out with
lodging. I need to do something. I heard someone after the election say
it's like the nation is careening down the highway with a drunk driver at
the wheel. I feel that more than ever, these last couple of weeks.

On Mon, Aug 14, 2017 at 8:12 PM Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> This came from our bishops today--I think it's very good.
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > A Statement from the Bishops of Virginia about the Charlottesville
> Tragedy
> >
> >
> > On Saturday our hearts were broken.  An angry group of neo-Nazi and
> fascist protesters came into Charlottesville, Virginia, armed and armored,
> looking for trouble.  The violence and loss of life suffered in their wake
> signaled yet another escalation of the hate-filled divisions of our time.
> The peace of a beautiful university town was shattered.  The images that
> some had of America were broken.
> >
> > The echoes of the heartbreaking tragedy that was Charlottesville will
> remain with us for a long time to come.  We have every indication that we
> will be seeing more of this.  Angry white supremacists seem already to be
> organizing to bring their ugly and racist rhetoric to other towns and
> cities across our Commonwealth and across the United States.  Angry
> resisters are more than ready to meet their violence with violence.
> >
> > It's hard to imagine a time when the Church is more needed in the public
> square.  It's hard to imagine a time when our need would be greater for God
> to take our broken hearts and break them open for wise, loving and faithful
> witness in Christ's name.
> >
> > As followers of Jesus Christ, we are admonished to heed God's call to
> love our neighbors through prayer, through speaking out and through other
> concrete action for the sake of all, particularly the poor, the oppressed,
> the judged, the demonized.  That witness was on display Saturday in
> Charlottesville in the peaceful march by hundreds of clergy leaders from
> Charlottesville, from our Diocese, and from other religious traditions in
> Virginia and beyond.  Such witness must continue.
> >
> > There will be more rallies and more divisions. We must be prepared to
> meet those challenges, not with violent confrontation, but by exemplifying
> the power of love made known in concrete action.
> >
> > As your bishops, we commit ourselves to action of the kinds we list
> below.  We invite you to join us and to share your actions with us so that
> we can grow together in wisdom, faithfulness and love.
> >
> > Whatever we do we may not, we must not, be quiet in the face of evil
> during this violent era of our lives together.
> >
> > Faithfully yours,
> >
> > The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston
> > The Rt. Rev. Susan E. Goff
> > The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Concrete actions in the face of white supremacists and others whose
> message is counter to Christ's embracing love.
> >
> >
> > 1. Be clear about the issues.  Make distinctions of the following kinds:
> > All individuals and groups in this country have a right to free speech.
> All have a right to their convictions and to speak those convictions
> publicly.  Individuals and groups do not have a right to assault, attack or
> cause violence against anyone else based on their views - or for any reason.
> > The issue of removing Confederate monuments is a complex one with a
> number of legitimate points of view. Reasoned discussion and
> decision-making processes are called for.  Using these points of view to
> justify violence is wrong and cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.
> > Many Americans lovingly cling to their heritage, which provides them
> with pride and identity.  Some suggest that the white people who gathered
> to protest in Charlottesville were there to proclaim and protect Southern
> heritage.  However, Nazi and fascist flags, symbols, salutes, slogans and
> uniforms are not and never have been part of the heritage and history of
> the American South.  We as a nation suffered over a million American
> casualties in order to defeat the Nazi regime.  We have been clear as a
> nation that the Nazi worldview is evil, and we must remain clear.
> > As Americans and as the Church, we believe that inclusion of all persons
> in our common life is central to our identity.  We seek to welcome and
> include all people.  We understand that there is a wide range of legitimate
> perspectives on the issues that are most important to us.  We do not,
> however, welcome, include or legitimize all behaviors and all words. Some
> words and actions are simply not acceptable.  We need to keep making
> distinctions about what behaviors and actions we will not tolerate.
> > 2. Write to your representatives in the Virginia General Assembly:
> > Urging them to enact legislation to track hate crimes in the
> Commonwealth.  As it stands now, we do not have the tools we need as
> citizens to track what seems to be an escalation of violent acts and
> therefore to respond appropriately.
> > Urging the Legislature to form a task group, in the language of the
> Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, "to propose how Virginia can
> create an environment that welcomes and offers opportunity to all people of
> color, Muslims, immigrants, women, LGB and poor white men."
> > 3. Create conversation groups in which you can get to know people from
> different backgrounds or with different political perspectives from your
> own.  Talk to one another.  Listen deeply to one another.  We as a society
> have forgotten how to talk and listen openly.  We in the Church can help
> rediscover the skills.
> >
> > 4. Pray.
> > For the civic and religious leaders of Charlottesville, for all citizens
> of Charlottesville, for all the people who live and work in the
> Charlottesville area.
> > For those who died in Charlottesville on Saturday:  Heather Heyer, Lt.
> H. Jay Cullen, Trooper-Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, and for their families.
> > For all who were injured in violence in Charlottesville on Saturday.
> > For those with whom we disagree.
> > For peace in our nation and in the world.
> > 5. Pray alone and in groups.  Join in the prayers of those who pray from
> different traditions or styles from your own.  Hearing the prayers of
> others can expand and deepen our own praying.
> >
> > 6. Do a moral inventory of yourself.  How do you feel about free
> speech?  Are there limits?  If so, where do they lie?  What is not
> acceptable?  What resonance do you have with exclusionary rhetoric either
> on the right or on the left?  As Jesus said, take the log out of your own
> eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's
> eye.
> >
> > 7. White people, speak out against white supremacy.  It is we white
> people who must speak to white supremacists to make clear that we do not
> agree with them, that they do not speak for the "white race."  Our silence
> will be heard as complicity.
> >
> >
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> >
> > The Diocese of Virginia, 110 West Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23220
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-- 
Ann

The Rev. Ann Markle
Buffalo, NY