16/12/2025
Today our hearts break alongside the Jewish community across Australia and beyond, and all those impacted, as we process the news of the terrible act of violence at the Hanukkah by the Sea celebration on Bondi Beach. This was a moment of worship, meant to be filled with community light and song - transformed into unimaginable tragedy. Innocent people were killed, including children, with dozens more injured.
We hold in our hearts the families, congregations, and communities now carrying grief, fear, and heartbreak, and we give thanks for all those offering care, protection, and compassion in its aftermath.
โIn Christ, we are bound to one another beyond culture, creed, or distance. We condemn any worldview that would seek to dehumanise another person or justify violence against a people. We are called to be people of a love that refuses to be constrained. To echo the words of the former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, in the wake of another tragedy, "We are one, they are us". This loss and violence grieves us to our core. There is no moral, political, or religious excuse for hatred that leads to harm.โ Gershon Nimbalker, Common Grace National Director
In the midst of this horror, we give thanks for the courageous act of a bystander who intervened to restrain one of the attackers, undoubtedly saving lives. His bravery is a powerful reminder that love of neighbour can break through even the darkest moments.
Let us pray:
God of mercy and peace,
We come before you in our heartbreak and grief.
God, we know you are near to the broken-hearted.
We pray for the Jewish community across our nation, for those grieving, those injured, and those living with fear and shock.
We hold before you the families who have lost loved ones, and all whose lives have been upended by this violence.
We give thanks for emergency services and first responders, and ask for strength, protection, and care for them as they serve.
And Lord, we pray for our nation, that hatred would not have the final word, that love would be stronger than fear, and that your light would shine in the darkness.
Amen.