On Friday March 15, 2019 someone tried to redefine who we are as New Zealanders. In a planned attack, 50 innocent lives were murderously taken to feed a false and evil ideology.
As far as we know all the victims were people of Muslim faith. This is an ancient faith with which Christians and Jews have a shared heritage of belief in one God and in the Abrahamic tradition.
The alleged attackerpromotes a false ideology based on "white supremacy".
We must completely reject not only the actions but also the ideology that drove it. All religions affirm the sacredness of life and have prohibitions against taking life unjustly. From Moses, who is part of our common heritage we receive the sixth commandment "Thou shalt not kill". To show our rejection of this false ideology, St Luke's Church Rotorua will open its doors to provide a place for prayer for those who have lost their lives, and their loved ones left grieving and confused. We will light a candle of remembrance and sign a book of condolence.
May we pray for these loved ones lost and pray for ourselves that God will deliver us from evil. May this tragedy strengthen a determination in us that we will not allow a false ideology to define us. Instead, we choose to be a people who live according to the values of respect for others, compassion and kindness towards strangers, hospitality and openness to those who are different. A community that is safe for the vulnerable is safe for everyone.
