The following statement was offered by Annie Rawlings, ICNY Director of Outreach and Program Administration, at the August 8 NYC vigil honoring the Sikh temple shooting victims in Wisconsin:
Good evening and greetings from The Interfaith Center of New York. I’m here with Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, a member of the Interfaith Center’s board and Executive Vice President of the New York Board of Rabbis. You will hear from our Vice Chair in a moment: the Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, Past President of the Buddhist Council of New York..
It is good to see this collection of neighbors here this evening, responding to the attack on our sister and brother Sikhs. We stand with them, with the families of those who were killed, and with those who were wounded and their families, in sorrow and solidarity. We stand with all people of good will to denounce acts of hate of any kind. We have been grateful to see the breadth of similar response from across the spectrum of the faith community: from congregations like the Unity Fellowship of Christ Church, and the Kolot Chayeinu Jewish community, and from organizations such as Auburn Seminary, Tanenbaum, Intersections International, Women in Islam, the Muslim Consultative Network, Odyssey Networks, the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative. You will hear from leaders from other congregations and organizations in a moment. These all represent a much, much larger community of interfaith concern and support.
It is our ongoing work to extinguish the fires of discrimination, religious or otherwise, and to broaden the path where all of us can walk together in peace. The right to pray as one chooses, to pray in peace as one chooses, is a fundamental American right. Last Sunday, a group of Americans were exercising that fundamental right, and it was breached by an insidious act of violence. The right to the free exercise of religion is a treasure we all have to actively protect. The diversity of the American community is also a treasure we all have to actively protect. We join all of you in vowing to keep doing so to the best of our ability.
Photo credit: Odyssey Networks
