Once more a racially motivated young man has authored a manifesto and killed ten people and wounded others at a Tops Grocery Store in Buffalo.

To quote the NY Post, “A “heavily armed” white teenager clad in military-style tactical gear slaughtered ten people Saturday in a “racially motivated” mass shooting he live-streamed at a Buffalo supermarket, authorities said.  The shooter — identified by law enforcement as 18-year-old Payton Gendron — drove from “hours away” in Conklin, New York, to a Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue, in a predominantly black neighborhood, officials said. Eleven of the victims were Black and two were white.”

The Pennsylvania Council of Churches stands firmly against violence of any kind, but we are significantly saddened by the continuing racially-motivated violence in our communities. Clearly, it is time to do more than write and talk about racism. It is time for us to do more than pray, although our prayers are warranted. It is time for people of faith to stand side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, and express as clearly as possible our abhorrence of violence of any kind. It is time to stand for racial justice, for non-violence, for our communities seeking peace and safety for all our siblings, of every race and creed.

The continuing genocide against people of color in this nation must come to an end. Our political leaders cannot be allowed to continue fueling this violence, with calls for a return to a more racist, elitist nation. John Wesley is quoted as saying, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” It is time to do something to bring about reconciliation and peace. We pledge our support to urge our leaders to take appropriate action and to educate and empower people of faith to pray and work to end violence against people of color and all who are labeled as “other” in our society.

Pennsylvania Council of Churches’ Commission on Unity and Relationships

May 23, 2022