It is with great sadness that we at the Center for Interfaith Relations (CIR) begin our week with news of the murder of six people in a Wisconsin Sikh Temple. The CIR believes that every act of worship by every single person is a blessing to one and all alike. While we still don’t know what motivated this horrible event, we feel that the assault on worshippers while they were at prayer is a violation of the sanctity of all houses of worship as well as a vicious assault on the sanctity of human life. In the face of such tragedy, we call upon all people of faith in our community to acknowledge the blessings that we have received from the prayers of our Sikh neighbors and, in the spirit of compassion, to suffer with them as they grieve for their losses. They must know by our loving sympathy that they do not stand alone. We will not leave them comfortless. Compassion is the tie that binds us all, regardless of our individual beliefs, and strengthens our community. Today, we pray as a community of many faiths for those affected by this act of violence.
-Turney Berry, Board Chairman, Center for Interfaith Relations
-John Reed, Board President, Center for Interfaith Relations
-Kathleen Lyons, Executive Director, Center for Interfaith Relations