I spoke at an Interfaith Rally against Racism this past Sunday August 13, 2017 at 6:30 in the evening at the Mardi Gras Park in Mobile.
Here is my text:
Eloheinu v’elohei avoteinu v’imoteinu,
Our God and God of our ancestors, Hate has been visited upon our country, We feel vulnerable, afraid, angry and broken.
O God, we pray to You: May strength come from our vulnerability, so we can support one another, and receive the support of others with gratitude and humility.
As we have heard, one person has died after a car slammed into a group of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. The loss of life is saddening. The city’s mayor said, “I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here. I urge all people of good will–go home...” to avoid further conflict.
The Virginia Governor “I have a message to the white supremacists and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Go home. You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. You pretend that you are patriots, but you are anything but patriots.”
The deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the images of white nationalists, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis carrying swastika flags shouting, “Jews will not replace us!” and “You will not replace us!’ has stunned millions of people throughout the world.
As the Attorney General wrote, “The violence and deaths in Charlottesville strike at the heart of American law and justice. When such actions arise from racial bigotry and hatred, they betray our core values and cannot be tolerated.”
May wisdom come from our anger, so we are able to see that an attack against us is an attack against all, and we are able to join in common cause with those who are similarly oppressed and targeted.
God of all life, you call us to live in community and teach us to care for one another. Inspire us with a vision of the community as it might be, where love of neighbor and concern for one another drive out discontent and strife, anxiety and fear.
Help us all to work together with one heart and will, with sympathy and understanding, to serve the common good, to minister to people in trouble and despair, and to multiply true happiness among us.
Continually upholding the teachings and traditions of Your covenant, Pursuing righteousness and compassion, Justice and mercy, Peace and understanding, Love and friendship.
May You frustrate those who seek to do harm And uphold those who seek to do good. May the shelter of Your peace spread over us and over all who dwell on earth. One Love, One Heart.
And let us say, Amen.
Amen.
Here is a link to the TV News account--
http://wkrg.com/2017/08/13/mobile-holds-vigil-for-racial-justice-and-equality-in-response-to-va-violence/