Dean Hollerith on white supremacists in Charlottesville: Racism grieves the heart of God

WASHINGTON (Aug. 12, 2017) Following the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left at least one person dead, the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, issued the following statement:

“For too long, too many Americans have falsely believed that the evil of racism is largely a thing of the past. We have failed to take seriously the cancer of white supremacy that lurks beneath the surface of our collective life. Today, in Charlottesville, that ugliness exploded into public view, and we must not look away.

Let me be perfectly clear: Violence and extremism in the guise of racial identity or racial pride are as sinful and twisted as violence and extremism committed in the name of God. The tragic events in Charlottesville today, and the hatred that fueled them, grieve the heart of God. All of us need to repent of the racism that still flourishes in our nation.

Together, we join with all people of conscience and goodwill to pray, in the words of our Prayer Book, that God would “take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth.”

We will pray for the victims of this tragedy; for God to soften the hearts of those blinded by racial hatred; and for all Americans to find the courage and strength to do the hard work of repairing the racial divisions among us.”

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