The statement below was released by the San Francisco Interfaith Council, a URI Cooperation Circle. It is a powerful statement about valuing diversity, standing up against hate and acting on behalf of love and justice.
"Yesterday, I returned to San Francisco from Rwanda to the news of the terror and atrocities in Charlottesville, Virginia in the United States," says Victor Kazanjian, URI's Executive Director. "A day ago I was in a country (Rwanda) recovering from civil war and genocide and aspiring to build a society with “Unity in Diversity” as its central ethic. Today, I am in a country (the United States) whose motto “E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One” is being made a mockery of by a president encouraging his country to relive its civil war as he promotes division and hate among its citizens."
"Principle 7 of the URI Charter states, "We seek and welcome the gift of diversity and model practices that do not discriminate." The Preamble of URI's Charter calls us to action in moments such as these. "We unite to use our combined resources only for nonviolent, compassionate action, to awaken to our deepest truths, and to manifest love and justice among all life in our Earth community."
May we as people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and Indigenous traditions throughout the world unite to confront the politics of hate wherever it may appear and work tirelessly to promote cultures of peace, justice and healing throughout the world."
SF Faith Leaders Stand United Against Hate in Charlottesville and Our Backyard
August 15, 2017 , San Francisco -- First and foremost, we offer our prayers for the victims and the families of the dead in Charlottesville, Virginia and all who were traumatized by the hateful violence that ensued there.
Sometimes when horrific and deadly acts are perpetrated in the name of hate, such as our nation witnessed on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, we are tempted to limit those incidents to the context in which they occurred. Charlottesville is a place intimately identified with our nation's painful and divisive Civil War history, and it is easy to think that such an event could only happen in that region of the country. Sadly, what happened in Charlottesville is symptomatic of an unprecedented growth of organized hate in our nation that knows no geographic boundaries. We need look no further than the findings of a recent report published by the Southern Poverty Law Center (https://www.splcenter.org/hate-map ) to face the reality that 917 hate groups exist in the United States of America, 79 of which are found in California, and a significant number calling the Bay Area their home.
As statements and vigils decrying acts of hate and violence in Charlottesville flooded social and other media, a group calling itself "Patriot Prayer," actively petitioned to host back-to-back rallies in San Francisco's Crissy Field and Berkeley's Martin Luther King Park on August 26 and 27, respectively. The former is billed as "Patriot Prayer: Free Speech, Unity and Peace San Francisco," the latter, a "No to Marxism Rally."
As people of faith, we stand united to denounce those who use words such as "prayer," "unity" and "peace" to mask any agenda of hate, intolerance, and bigotry. In the days ahead, we will use the voices of faith communities - through prayer, the pulpit, and our communications networks - to educate and inform, and to fight racism, hatred, and bigotry wherever it may occur, particularly in our City of St. Francis. We will not step aside but will stand strong for our values of inclusivity, respect for all persons, and justice.
Kaushik Roy, Chair, San Francisco Interfaith Council
Rita R. Semel, Past Chair, San Francisco Interfaith Council
Michael G. Pappas, Executive Director, San Francisco Interfaith Council
CO-SIGNED BY:
Imam Abu Qadir Al-Amin, Resident Imam, San Francisco Muslim Community Center
Rev. Deborah Alvarez-Rodriguez, Pastor, Jones United Methodist Church
The Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop, The Episcopal Diocese of California
Fr. Mesrop Ash, Parish Priest, St. John Armenian Apostolic Church
Fatih Ferdi Ates, Director, Pacifica Institute
The Rev. Sally Bingham, President, California Interfaith Power & Light
Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown, Pastor, Third Baptist Church & President, SF Branch-NAACP
Rev. Angela Brown, JD, Associate Pastor, GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church
Rev. Dr. Ellen Clark-King, Executive Pastor and Canon for Social Justice, Grace Cathedral
Rev. Staci Current, District Superintendent Bay District, CA-NV Annual Conference UMC
Sister Chandru Desai, Director, Brahma Kumaris Meditation Center, SF
Pastor Elizabeth Ekdale, Lead Pastor, St. Mark's Lutheran Church
Fred Fielding, Board President, Interfaith Center at the Presidio
Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J., President, University of San Francisco
Rabbi Marvin Goodman, Executive Director Emeritus, Board of Rabbis of No. California
Rev. Jisan Tova Green, San Francisco Zen Center
Iftekhar Hai, President, United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance
Deacon G.L. Hodge, Providence Baptist Church
The Rev. Mark W. Holmerud, Bishop, Sierra Pacific Synod, ELCA
Most Reverend William Justice, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of San Francisco
The Rev. Victor H. Kazanjian, Jr., Executive Director, United Religions Initiative
Rev. D. Andrew Kille, Chair, Silicon Valley Interreligious Council
Rev. Ronald Kobata, Resident Minister, Buddhist Church of San Francisco
Fr. Stephen Kyriacou, Dean, Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral
Rev. Deborah Lee, (UCC) Program Director, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
Rev. Junchol Lee, Senior Pastor, San Francisco Swedenborgian Church
Rev. Dr. James McCray, Jr., Executive Director, Tabernacle Community Development Corp.
Rev. Will McGarvey, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County
Rev. Jeanelle Nicolas Ablola, Pastor, Pine United Methodist Church
Abby Porth, Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council
Rev. Scott Quinn, Executive Director, Marin Interfaith Council
Rabbi Larry Raphael, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Sherith Israel
Rev. Vanessa Rush Southern, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Society of SF
Moina Shaiq, President, Tri City Interfaith Council
Rita Shimmin, Executive Director, GLIDE Foundation
Rabbi Beth Singer, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Emanu-El
Rabbi Jonathan Singer, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Emanu-El
Stephanie Spencer, President, Eden Area Interfaith Council
Rev. Sadie Stone, Pastor, Bethany United Methodist Church
Swami Tattwamayananda, Minister, Vedanta Society of San Francisco
Rev. John Weems, Pastor & Head of Staff, Calvary Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Jay Williams, Lead Pastor, GLIDE Memorial United Methodist Church
The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young, Dean, Grace Cathedral
Rabbi Jessica Zimmerman Graf, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Sherith Israel
Congregation leaders are encouraged to share this message with their congregants.
For additional information please contact Michael G. Pappas at (415) 425-9631
