by Bill Haley (Coracle Executive Director) &
Kristy Wallace (Repentance Project Director)

With you, our hearts are deeply troubled, sad, angry, and sorrowful at the news of last Saturday’s deadly and racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo. We are grieved by and lament these events, the tremendous loss of life, the context that led the young shooter to do what he did, easy access to tools of extreme violence, and the fear for people of color that such events provoke.  

Seeing that and then Sunday’s shooting at a Laguna Woods church, we lament and cry out with the Psalms, “How long, Oh Lord, how long?”  May the tragedy and humanity of eleven lives taken not be lost in the political implications of these events; our deepest condolences go out to the families of:  Aaron Salter (Buffalo), Andre Mackneil (Buffalo), Celestine Chaney (Buffalo), Geraldine Talley (Buffalo), Deacon Hayward Patterson (Buffalo), John Cheng (Laguna), Katherine Massey (Buffalo), Margus D. Morrison (Buffalo), Pearl Young (Buffalo), Roberta A. Drury (Buffalo), Ruth Whitfield (Buffalo), 

These events of last weekend serve as a reminder that we all need to continue on our individual and collective journeys towards racial justice, healing, and reconciliation. We offer you a few resources below, grown out of our own journey through the years, and we hope they will be a blessing to you.

“An American Lament” – a 50-day devotional created to help all Americans see clearly the legacy of racism through the lens of our Christian faith.

“On Race in America: A Christian Response” – an all-too-timely conversation between a beautifully diverse panel of faith leaders.

“An Open Letter to White Christians: The Most Important Thing We Can Do Right Now” by Bill Haley