To the Editor:
Let it be known that we, clergy of South Berkshire stand solidly in support of our Muslim brothers and sisters. At the heart of our shared faith traditions is the teaching that every human being was created in the Divine image. These are words we live by.
We respond to and endorse wholeheartedly the call to “welcome the stranger” that cries out again and again from all of our Holy Scriptures. We believe in a world founded on love and recognize that it is only through our collective action that we will bring such a world to fruition.
We weep for the refugees who run from terror and we seek to provide a safe harbor for these innocent families caught in the cross-fires. We recognize that responding to hate with hatred and with fear only fans the fires of enmity among us.
We pray for our country and for its leaders to remember the soul of America, born from the fires of religious persecution. Let us not abandon our most cherished values, for if we do, then our enemies will shout victory and we will have nothing left to protect.
SIGNATORIES (affiliations listed only for identification purposes):
Richard Chrisman, Interim Minister, United Church of Christ in Lenox
Barbara J. Cohen, Spiritual Leader, Congregation Ahavath Sholom, Great Barrington
Belle Fox-Martin, Licensed Minister, United Church of Christ
Kathleen George, LADC I, BCPC
Rev. Liz Goodman, Monterey UCC
Rev. Jill D. Graham, Pastor, First Congregational Church of Sheffield, UCC
Rabbi Neil P. G. Hirsch, Hevreh of Southern Berkshire
Rev. Linda Hoddy, Spiritual Director
Rev. Cheryl Ann Luft, MSS. Ecumenical, unaffiliated
Rev. Liza Joy Marcato and Rev. Hugh Thornton, The Christian Community Movement for Religious Renewal
Rev. Lois Rose, UCC minister and director of East Mt. Retreat Center
The Rev. Annie Ryder, Christ Trinity Church in Sheffield
South Berkshire Friends Meeting (Quakers)
Rabbi Kaya Stern-Kaufman, RIMON: A Collaborative Community for Jewish Spirituality
Father Bruce N. Teague, Our Lady of the Valley Parish, Sheffield
Reverend Charles Van Ausdall, Pastor of First Congregational Church of Great Barrington
Rev. John Wightman, Sheffield
Pastor Brent Darrow, First Congregational Church, UCC, Stockbridge
The Rev. Dr. Janet Zimmerman, Priest in Charge, Grace Church in the Southern Berkshires
