[UUA-L] UUA President Issues Statement on the First Anniversary of Knoxville Tragedy

[Unitarian Universalist Association]

UUA President Peter Morales has issued a statement marking the first
anniversary (July 27) of the tragic shootings which occurred at the
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Morales said:

A year ago in Knoxville, Tennessee, a man with a gun entered the Sunday
morning worship service at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist
Church (TVUUC) and killed two people, Greg McKendry from TVUUC and Dr.
Linda Lee Kraeger from Westside Unitarian Universalist Church. That
horrific act reminds us that when hate and fear take hold of the human
heart, violence inevitably follows.

The response of the Knoxville UU congregations is a more potent reminder
of the power of compassion, hope and courage. Rather than respond to
hate with hate, they responded with love. Rather than allow fear to take
over, they reaffirmed their commitment to a message of love. The care
and support of their neighbors from other faiths reminds us all that our
shared humanity and our love for one another are more powerful than our
theological differences.

On this painful anniversary of a terrible tragedy, let us all commit
ourselves once more to creating religious communities where love can
flower. Let us commit ourselves to spreading our message of compassion,
hope, understanding, community and joy to a world too often hurt by
isolation, desperation and conflict.

Let us stand on the side of love. Love will guide us. It always has.


Morales' statement can be found at
http://www.uua.org/news/newssubmissions/144763.shtml .  Words for a
chalice lighting, written by Rev. Chris Buice, Minister of TVUUC, and
Rev. Mitra Jafarzadeh, Minister of the Westside Unitarian Universalist
Church, are also available for use in worship on Sunday, July 26, at
http://www.uua.org/news/knoxville/worship/chalicelightings/144767.shtml
.  Additional worship resources written following the Knoxville tragedy
are available at http://www.uua.org/news/knoxville/worship/index.shtml .
Comprehensive UUA coverage of the Knoxville tragedy, including UU World
coverage, is archived at http://www.uua.org/news/knoxville/index.shtml .