"As paths of response, may we seek and develop avenues of racial conversation and reconciliation; may we refuse to accept things as they are in our world; and may we strive for the vision of peace offered by Jesus himself," writes Bishop Charles vonRosenberg of the Diocese of South Carolina, in a statement calling for prayer and self-examination in response to the June 17 church shootings in Charleston.
The full text of vonRosenberg's statement follows:
"The unimaginable tragedy at Emanuel AME Church calls for prayer, response, and self examination.
"In our prayers, may we remember the victims, their families, the community of faith that is Emanuel, the wider communities of faith in the AME Church, and our society so prone to violence.
"As paths of response, may we seek and develop avenues of racial conversation and reconciliation; may we refuse to accept things as they are in our world; and may we strive for the vision of peace offered by Jesus himself.
"In terms of self examination, may we not neglect our own complicity in an environment of polarization and suspicion, and may we respond with sincere and profound confession to God, who loves us all.
"I commend these possibilities for prayer, response, and self examination. An excellent guide on this way is St. Francis, who wrote these words in his familiar prayer (Book of Common Prayer, page 833):
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen."
--The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg
Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina