The following statement, dated June 3, 2020, has been received from members of Newtown Interfaith Council, in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd.

The 46-year-old black man was in the custody of Minneapolis, Minn., police officers, handcuffed and face down on pavement, while a white police officers pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck. Two other police officers reportedly further restrained Floyd, and another officer reportedly prevented onlookers from intervening.

To the Newtown community:

Like you, we watched with heartbreak and horror the killing of George Floyd. We all have seen together the eruption of rage and the near universal demand for equal justice for black Americans that has ensued. All of us have to answer for the racial tension in this country. None of us has done enough to help unite us as Americans, as brothers and sisters of one human family and as children of the one God who gives life and sustains us all.

Each of our faith traditions echo in its own teachings our responsibility to each other as said in the words of Leviticus: “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor’s blood is shed.” Each of our faith traditions has similar admonitions that God sees no distinction between his creatures as the book of Romans tells us: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is the Lord of all.” Each of our faith traditions asks us to see our differences as an invitation to learn of the beauty of the human family as it says in the Quran: “We created you all... and made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.” Each of our faith traditions calls us to abandon our prejudices and unite around the better angels of our nature as the Baha’i Writings say, “The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”

All of us have a contribution to make in the healing of our country. We can calmly and courageously work to root out any presumption of superiority we may harbor in our hearts and minds over people of another background, especially people of color. All of us can avoid discordant ways of communication that poison the social commons and create barriers to people of color. We can and must be willing to patiently listen to the experiences of those who have suffered the indignities of racism. Their stories are also the story of our nation. All of us can work within the institutions we have influence within to examine those policies and procedures that may stifle the dignity of others, especially people of color. The time is now. Our community knows the importance of working together in unity in difficult times. Perhaps we are being called at this time to express a fuller measure of humility and compassion for the healing of ourselves, our families and the nation. We join as members of communities of faith to humbly call upon the God of mercy and compassion to guide us all along this path, to protect us from the scourge of hatred and division and to heal our troubled nation.

Signed,

Eman Beshtawii, president of Al-Hedaya Islamic Center

Reverend Matthew Crebbin, Newtown Congregational Church, UCC

Lori Miller, pastor, Newtown United Methodist Church

The Reverend Dr Jenny Montgomery, Trinity Episcopal Church

Rob Morris, pastor, Christ the King Lutheran Church

Rabbi Dr Shaul Marshall Praver, chaplain, Connecticut Department of Corrections

Monsignor Robert Weiss, pastor, St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church

Margo and John Woodall of the Baha’i Community of Newtown

Please note Pastor Miller’s name was inadvertently omitted from the list of those who had signed this statement when it was referenced in the June 5, 2020 print edition of The Newtown Bee.