A Faithful Response to Buffalo

Dear ones,

The racist massacre in Buffalo hit us hard. We know the pain and trauma of having someone taken from us in an act of violence. We live with the fear and knowledge that both gun violence and racialized hatred will strike again. Yet, when it happens it is just as devastating as the first time. When it occurs in the ordinary places of life – our supermarkets, our houses of faith, Walmarts, or movie theaters – we experience a further violation of trust and community.

First, we prioritize care and particularly care for people of color. UUCA members of color, please know that many are joining me in holding you in heart and mind right now. We hold you in community to be authentically however you are right now. Please share the best ways for UUCA and I can support you.

We also are responding to the calls of the Black Buffalo community to address and repair racism within ourselves, our communities, and our systems. Though violence against people of color on these lands goes back to the first colonial ships, the Buffalo massacre also occurred in the context of the growing normalization of racism and political violence in the U.S. We have seen this before: hateful rhetoric breeds hateful violence. Our response is engagement – in anti-racism learning, broad-based organizing, and in building the Beloved Community. Here are some options:

It is hard to balance our finding safety within those communities we trust and know and the recognition that it is in reaching out to those with different perspectives that we have a chance of mitigating these cycles of violence. I trust that each of us, knowing and caring for ourselves well, can discern the best direction for our energies.

Yours in Ministry,

Rev. Anastassia