Download Litany – A Litany For Children Slain By Violence

Beloved,

Most of us read or watched with very heavy hearts the repeated assaults of violence and state sanctioned terror that plague our African American communities.  Right now, the nation is focused on Ferguson, MO, but we know this is happening everywhere.

In response to the tragedy and ongoing protests in Ferguson, Rev. Ruby Sales, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference and Eden Theological Seminary are hosting a community forum Saturday at 4:00 P.M. in the Wehrli Chapel on Eden’s campus in St. Louis, MO.

Most of us cannot go to Ferguson to stand in solidarity with the Brown family and community.

Too many of us have witnessed close up the violence and terror that comes from illegal guns in American communities and rogue policemen who do not “serve or protect.”

“Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.”  What we are experiencing is an assault to the human spirit of us all and pierces the very soul of America.

We are asking that congregations, synagogues, mosques and other houses of our diverse American faiths throughout the nation, pause in solidarity with those in Ferguson who have responded with the words, “Don’t’ shoot!  I’m not armed!”

As you leave your house of worship this week, please end your service by inviting members of your faith community to join you outside in prayer and with arms raised, repeating the words, “Don’t shoot! We are not armed.”

We thank you for supporting this action and sending a message up and out as we stand for justice and righteousness and mourn the blood of our children which covers the streets of this nation.

Our struggle continues.  We who believe in freedom cannot rest. Our voices will not be silenced.  We are in collaboration with interfaith leadership from around the nation who are calling for the White House, the U.S. Justice Department, and the U.S. Congress to address the rise of state sanctioned murders in America as well as the proliferation of gun violence in our communities.

With Hope,

Dr. Iva E. Carruthers, Dr. Frederick D. Haynes, III and Father Michael Pfleger
Board of Trustees, The Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference
Rev. Stephen J. Thurston, Sr
President of the National Baptist Convention of America, Incorporated