We, the clergy of Lift Up Southfield!, an interfaith community of Southfield congregations, pray for the victims and families affected by the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA and roundly denounce the violence which occurred as innocent worshippers gathered for Shabbat services on October 27.

The murder of eleven people and wounding of many more have broken the hearts of faithful people of all walks of life, but our souls, our beliefs, and our shared unity of purpose remain unshaken.

As representatives of many faiths we share values shaped by our holy texts — all of which command us to revere life. And we recognize that an attack against anyone, particularly who’s practicing their constitutional right to freely worship, is an attack on all people of good will.

We further denounce the current political climate of polarization, prejudice, and xenophobia, which is now so rampant in our country. We will not stand by idly and allow forces of hatred and bigotry go unchallenged.

In solidarity, we commend the interfaith community of Pittsburgh, more than a thousand of whom gathered shortly after the shootings, to demonstrate their love for and mutual support of their Jewish neighbors during this tragic time.

We commit to embodying these ideals by drawing closer to one another and by urging all peoples and communities of faith in Southfield and Metro Detroit to do so as well.

The Very Rev. Chris Yaw – St. David’s Episcopal Church

The Rev. Kimi Riegel – Northwest Unitarian Universalist Church

Pastor Jill Heather – Emmanuel Lutheran Church

The Rev. Theodore Turman – First Baptist Church of Detroit

Rabbi Aaron Starr – Congregation Shaarey Zedek

Fr. Jeffrey Scheeler, OFM - Catholic Church of the Transfiguration

Fr. Jeremy Harrington, OFM – Catholic Church of the Transfiguration

Very Rev. Fr. Aren Jebejian – St. John’s Armenian Orthodox Church

Rev. Fr. Armash Bagdasarian - St. John’s Armenian Orthodox Church