Stand For Life: Minute of Silence in Honor of the Sacredness of Life

July 23, 2012

This past week has been a hard and painful week for people of conscience throughout the world upon the news of the terrorist attack on a bus of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, which had claimed the lives of five young men and women and their tour bus driver. Then on Friday July 22, Coloradans throughout our state and the rest of the nation woke up to the horrific news of a murder spree at the Century Movie Theater in Aurora.  The deep ache of our collective souls took another deep sigh as we learned the names and identities of the twelve precious individuals who lost their lives simply because they were enjoying a night out at the movies, including the loss of a six year old child.

It is moments like these that demand that we stand up and affirm the uncompromising and unyielding sacredness of all life. We must not let our lives go unaffected by what happens around us; we must rise and declare that we care.

To do anything less than unequivocally stand up against terrorism, in all the forms it takes, is to do none other than condone that violence. The murderers, terrorists and evildoers of this world will only find strength and encouragement when the global community refuses to honor the memory of those who lives were taken and stand for justice and peace.

Join us, along with the leaders and members of faith communities throughout the metropolitan area, at 1:00 pm on Sunday, July 29 in front of BMH-BJ Congregation to observe a minute of silence and lift up our thoughts and prayers for the lives of all who are so brutally and viciously taken from us.

I invite all people who wish to be counted amongst those who stand up and say “I care” and I will not let murder, terrorism and brutality, be it in Munich, Bulgaria or Aurora, pass by unnoticed to join us. Let us, together, affirm the shared destiny of all of humanity and the value of each and every human life.  Our silence will speak louder than words that we, people of faith and conscience, will never be desensitized and insensitive to the loss of life and the devaluing of a fellow human being.