In this hour of our testing: New York bishop writes to diocese after terror attack

Posted Nov 1, 2017

[Episcopal Diocese of New York] 

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

The news of what appears to have been a terror-related attack in Lower Manhattan comes to me as Bishop Glasspool and I are continuing our visit to Bishop Chilongani in the Diocese of Central Tanganyika. How difficult it is to be away from our city when it is in crisis!

I join with all in our diocese, all people of faith, and all our city in mourning the lives lost and the chaos visited upon our own streets. I know that opportunities for prayer are already being planned for tomorrow and following days. I urge you to go and be with one another, and pray with one another, and turn a common face toward the God who is balm for weary and broken hearts.

I know that in every church the victims of this violence will be remembered in prayer today, tomorrow and at our Sunday liturgies. Pray also for our country, and for God’s guidance for our leaders. Pray for peace. Pray for understanding across religions, cultures and political philosophies. And pray for ourselves, that we may guard our hearts, that we may by the grace of God respond to hatred with love, and violence with peace.

Once again it is crucial that we do not extrapolate from the violence committed by one man to condemn or blame the larger Islamic community, or to view all Muslims as dangerous. Faithful, peaceful Muslims are as bereaved and angry about these killings as anyone else in our city, and we know the Islamic community to be our friends.

Now is the time when we who follow a God of peace, across our several religions, must stand together against all forces of destruction. Indeed, the love of peace and the renunciation of the evil powers which corrupt and destroy are contained within the heart of our baptismal life. That is who we are.

I long to return to you, and pray for you every one in this hour of our testing. And always I remain 

Yours,

The Rt. Rev. Andrew ML Dietsche

Bishop of New York


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Comments (14)

  1. Quentin Durward says:

    These press releases have become formulaic. I’m tired of hearing the same vacuous musings and calls to prayer from Church leaders in denial. There are some very sick people in world. We can’t help them and they can’t help themselves if we are all in denial. Implying that innocent people are dying because we don’t understand each other is crap. Love is very powerful but love is not passive. We should pray that our leaders find strength to stand up proactively against terrorism instead of meekly enabling it with lame excuses.

  2. Thomas Scott Ball Jr says:

    Quentin Durward’s response encapsulates my thoughts exactly so I need not add to them.

  3. Dn. Dorothy Royal says:

    I do agree with Quentin Durward. We are ask by Jesus to Love our neighbor as ourselves. But these people that are doing the terrorism do not love us. They want to worship the way they do. To comfor to their way of thinking. If they want to do and think the way they do I have no problem with them going back to their own country.

  4. Thomas Scott Ball Jr says:

    ” If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman, or any of their allies. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him.” ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, 2014.

    Christians change hearts through the Truth of the Word Made Flesh.
    These evil demons seek to only to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10).

  5. Thomas Scott Ball Jr says:

    ” If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman, or any of their allies. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him.” ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, 2014.

    Christians change hearts through the Truth of the Word Made Flesh.
    These evil demons seek to only to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10).

  6. Catherine Cummings says:

    I have typed in my e-mail address and my name correctly. What more information do you want, please?

  7. Barbara Burgess says:

    I am an Episcopalian born and raised and I have friends who are Muslim. I agree with the bishop sentiments most Muslims are not mileage that the religion of Islam teaches peace. The best analogy I have ever heard is that Islamic extremism (like ISIS Al Queda other Islamic terrorist groups) is to Islam what the Ku Klux Klan is to Christianity. Yes Jesus teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. But yes in times like this it’s easier said than done but nothing ever worth having or doing is ever easy. Turn to prayer turn to the church for comfort it’s not an empty sentiment. It’s a way to gather and start to heal and show the terrorist they didn’t win.

  8. Bill Louis says:

    From Bishop Dietsche; ‘Muslims are as bereaved and angry about these killings as anyone else in our city….’ This seems to be a common response to these terrorist attrocities. if this is so then where is the outrage and condemnation for such acts from organizations like CAIR & USCMO?

  9. Tony Oberdorfer says:

    I agree completely with Quentin Durward. Church leaders who accuse members of their flock of hate-mongering because they believe in a tougher response to such outrages than reassuring words and flowers should be embarrassed by their own naivete.

  10. Jawaharlal Prasad says:

    It would be less confusing if Bishop Dietsche did not include terms such as “Muslim” and “Islamic community”. We are all shocked and unhappy with the killings done by suspect Sayfullo Saipov. It would be more realistic to portray the killings done by a soldier of ISIS than a Muslim. Such incident will undoubtedly force the US govt to re-examine their immigration policy but this will not be used as pretext of punishing the Islamic community as a whole.

    1. Tony Oberdorfer says:

      Jawaharlal Prasad sounds like a decent person but I must disagree with him in distinguishing between a soldier of ISIS and a regular Muslim. Obviously there are many reasonably disposed Muslims around the world. But in my understanding the Koran specifies that no one can be a really good Muslim unless he commits himself to killing non-Muslim infidels who are unwilling to convert. Since most if not all of the terrorists such as Sayfullo Saipov “went terrorist” AFTER coming to the United States despite being thoroughly “vetted,” common sense suggests the advisability of a blanket ban on immigrants from certain Middle Eastern countries (with rare exceptions) until such time as the Islamic threat is finally over.

  11. Jawaharlal Prasad says:

    Appreciate the compliment Tony but there are times, I struggle a lot in deciding which is better – violence or non-violence. The country I come from has seen Muslim invasions for over thousand years and that too with greater brutality with repeated invasions. Honest historians have written much about this. I agree with you that Muslims have their own understanding as to how infidels ought to be treated. Read about the treatment of minorities in Islamic countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh. Surprisingly in India, often times, Hindus are made to feel second class citizens with respect to the Muslims over certain rights! I won’t be surprised if in near future, Christians in US will be made to feel as second class citizens.
    US should do what is best for the security of this nation and its citizens.

  12. Doug Desper says:

    One day it must be faced that many countries with a majority Muslim culture often are in turmoil and violence. Lay aside any blame for the moment and simply observe the cultural realities of those countries where Islam dominates. Terror attack after terror attack has the same formulary by wishful apologists who rush to state that there are moderate Muslims. Of course there are – and those people are wonderful, but they will also honestly tell you that they dare not stick their necks out too far to challenge the majority view of Islam. Would they be welcomed in many of those nations where caliphate Islam dominates? Would they be targeted as apostates, even here in some of America’s mosques and schools?

    We have now gone well past the “few bad eggs” argument that tries to prove that cultural Islam has random lone wolves and that they do not represent true Islam. It begs to be asked, “How many thousands have made up the ‘bad eggs’ basket so far?”

  13. Tony Oberdorfer says:

    Doug Desper is correct. Sadly, it seems there are fewer and fewer Episcopal clergymen who do not subscribe to the “few bad eggs” argument and those who do not largely keep quiet because they fear being ostracized and possibly hurt professionally. This is an unfortunate situation that clearly is among the reasons why so many faithful Episcopalians are leaving the Church. How many more horrors like New York will it take before there is any chance of the tide turning? And will there be any Episcopal Church left by that time worthy of saving?

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