01/08/2021
We members of the Leadership Circle of the St. Mary of Magdala Catholic Community, on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after Epiphany, unconditionally state: The rioters who desecrated our nation’s Capital yesterday in no way represent us. As followers of God, who loves every being in the cosmos, and created the world to function in interdependent harmony, we cry out in protest against their violent actions, and against the failure of the Presidential administration to direct law enforcement to be prepared for and to effectively prevent their insurrection. We find the contrasts between the treatment of these seditionists and that of some previous peacefully protesting groups glaringly appalling.
We are for peace. We are for equal treatment for all people. Everyone should have the right to peacefully state their opinion in public. Everyone who willfully perpetrates violence against the law should be prosecuted. Going forward, we call on our community, our city, our state, and our country to band together as leaders of harmonious action toward justice. We must respect one another as created in God’s image, reform our society to make sure that all have what they need to provide for themselves and their loved ones, reform our church to make sure all human callings are honored, and reform our government to ascertain that truth and justice supersede party loyalty. This day must be the beginning of the time we come together as one, in the US and around the world, to rebuild the Beloved Community as a place of safety, health, free expression, meaningful work, and democratic liberty, for everyone.
Helen Weber-McReynolds, Pastor
Maria Thornton McClain, Retired Pastor
Peggy Alderman
Lauren Basile
Laura Blackthorn
Mary Heins
Theresa Maloney Schoen
Maureen Marshall-Doss
Kathy Schmid