04/24/2026
A letter from Johnson County Clergy Regarding April 19 and its aftermath:
In the early morning hours of April 19, five of our neighbors fell victim to senseless violence in the heart of downtown Iowa City. In the aftermath, shock, fear, and anger have reverberated throughout our community. At a vigil for peace on the Ped Mall the next day, over a hundred people gathered to bear witness and to reclaim that public space from the terror of the previous night. Still, the work of healing goes on.
Victims are still struggling to heal. Families are experiencing unimaginable pain. Those who were present on the night of the violence are still dealing with a range of emotions. Law enforcement continues to investigate and search for suspects. As a community, we struggle to hold and support one another. All the while it has become equally apparent that there are those who would use such a tragedy to push and widen already existing fault lines. While social media should not be used as a sole gauge for public sentiment, various platforms have revealed a disturbing array of voices who wish to use this tragic event to stoke and inflame racial tensions in our community. This is beyond unacceptable.
Gun violence is the plague of modern American society, and it pays no allegiance to any single race, economic background, or place of origin. To post racist and hateful comments in response to the events of April 19 is completely unproductive, unhelpful, unkind, and wrong. As faith leaders in this community, we unequivocally condemn both the violence on April 19 and the violence of online racist comments. Such comments and hate speech stand in opposition to what we believe and do absolutely nothing to help our community come together, heal, and create new avenues for preventing such incidents in the future.
In this time of grieving, reflection, and questioning, it is more important than ever to listen to one another, hold one another, and learn from one another. While law enforcement does its job to bring the perpetrators to justice, our job as citizens is to come together and not to use this as an opportunity to further racist divisions or score political points. As clergy, we have not always been as present in times of public pain as we should have. For that, we ask for forgiveness. As a community, let us come to see one another through eyes of grace to listen, learn, act, and reject any and all attempts that seek to use the events of April 19 to sow division.
Through all the many different layers of grief that we are all experiencing right now, may we come to see one another as neighbors who must rely on each other to build the just, affirming, and joyous community we all deserve.
The Rev. Nora Boerner, Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church Iowa City, IA
Pastor Ryan Downing, Faith United Church of Christ, Iowa City, IA
The Rev. Alice Haugen, Iowa City, IA
The Rev. Kevin Edens, Deacon, Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City
The Rev. Canon Meg Wagner, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa
The Rev. James C. Lindberg, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Iowa City, IA
Pastor Nathan Willard, First Presbyterian Church, Iowa City, IA
Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz, Agudas Achim Congregation, Coralville, IA
The Rev. Dr. Brenda Peconge, Zion Lutheran Church, Iowa City, IA
The Rev. Jay Elmquist, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Rev. Orlando R. Dial, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Iowa City, Iowa
Rev. Sarah Goettsch, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, North Liberty
Rev. Mary Kay Kusner, Full Circle Catholic Community, Iowa City, IA
The Rev. Jane Stewart, Iowa City, IA
Rev. Tom Ogilvie, interim pastor, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Iowa City, IA
The Ven. Judith Crossett, archdeacon emerita, Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City, IA
Rev. Laura Hudson Kittrell, Minister of Music and Worship, First Christian Church, Coralville
Marissa Kolander, M. Div, Minister of Faith Formation and Congregational Life, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Iowa City, IA
The Rev. James Harrison, New Song Episcopal Church, Coralville, IA
Rev. Mark Pries, Iowa City, IA
Rev. Peggy Garrigues, Solon United Methodist Church
Pastor Marc Schlegel-Preheim, First Mennonite Church, Iowa City, IA
Rev. Dr. Heecheon Jeon, First United Methodist Church and Wesley Foundation of Iowa City, IA
Rev. Sean McRoberts, Iowa City
Rev. Dr. Anna Blaedel, Iowa City
Rev. Timothy Smith, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, North Liberty, IA
Rev. Rachel Lamparek, Coralville United Methodist Church, Coralville, IA
Rev. Deborah Coble, First United Methodist Church, North Liberty, Iowa
The Rev. Marc Haack, Deacon, Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City, IA
