ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 11, 2009
ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Holocaust Museum Shooting
09-133-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson wrote letters
to 14 Jewish leaders in the United States, expressing his
"sadness and concern" at the shooting incident June 10 at
the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Hanson
is presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), the nation's largest Lutheran denomination.
Stephen Tyrone Jones, a security guard at the memorial,
was killed. Police shot and wounded the alleged shooter,
an 88-year old man. The suspect remains in a Washington-area
hospital in critical condition.
The full text of Hanson's letter was released June 11:
I write to express my sadness and concern about the
impact of the shooting which took place on June 10, at the
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. It is
reprehensible that such an attack occurred at this place
of solemn remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust.
Our prayers are with the families of the guard who was
killed, as well as with all those present or who work at
the Museum and who will remain traumatized by this terrible
event.
Even though this was the act of one disturbed individual,
it is deeply troubling that anti-Semitic acts, such as this
one, are still occurring. Such acts only increase anxiety
and fear in your community and threaten the security of all.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America deplores the
presence of anti-Semitism in our society and has called upon
its members to recognize in it "a contradiction and an affront
to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling." (From the
1994 "Declaration of ELCA to the Jewish Community) Therefore,
we will continue to live out our pledge "to oppose the deadly
working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in
the society around us." (Declaration, 1994)
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
