By Rev. Shane McNary
The Coordinating Council of Great Rivers Fellowship, a network of Baptist individuals and churches in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, stand in prayerful and public solidarity with our Jewish neighbors and with Beth Israel Congregation, whose house of worship was set on fire in an act of arson. We grieve this act of religiously motivated violence and condemn all ideologies of hate and separation.
An attack on a place of worship is an assault on one of the most basic human rights – the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. Religious hatred and identity-based aggression begin with hate-filled rhetoric that is corrosive to the soul, causing more self-harm than the destruction of the other it seeks.
We lean into the transformative, resilient love found when we embrace and celebrate the God-given diversity within our communities, affirming the universal dignity of all people as Image-bearers of the Divine. We stand with Beth Israel and every person of good will as we seek the just and equitable well-being of our communities for the uplifting of all.
In this moment of pain and uncertainty, we offer our prayers, our presence and our partnership. We stand with Beth Israel in grief and resolve, certain that the long-term relationships between our communities of faith are an example of the Divine mandate that to love one another is a demonstration of our love for God.
May healing, safety and peace prevail.
Shane McNary serves as coordinator of ministry at Great Rivers Fellowship.