Since 2012, self-avowed white supremacists have attacked a Sikh gurdwara in Wisconsin, an Islamic center in Quebec, Mother Emmanuel AME Church in South Carolina, the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and the two mosques in New Zealand.
“It was a bit different for me in a number of ways, as it caused me to relive my personal horror of October 27 as well as meet my expectation that there would be a massacre in another house of worship,” Myers wrote.
“The question was never ‘if,’ only ‘when.’ How does one who lived through the horror respond?”
A day later, Myers’ congregation, which he said still meets in a temporary location, responded. It set up a GoFundMe account that has raised $30,000 so far to support the victims of the Christchurch attacks.
“We recall with love the immediate, overwhelming support Tree of Life received from our Muslim brothers and sisters in Pittsburgh.”
In his column, Myers said that he received an “outpouring of love” from “all races, creeds, colors, sexual orientation, and ages” in the nearly five months since the shooting at his synagogue. He encouraged his congregation to show Muslims the same charity.
“I ask you to share my simple words with others, to reach out not only to the injured communities, but to your Islamic neighbors as well. They are in pain, and need your comfort and reassurance that they are not alone. We might not be able to totally rid the world of evil, but we must do our part to overwhelm it with goodness. I fervently pray I don’t have to write this column ever again.”
Source : CNN