Church continues to act in wake of recent grand jury decisions

A comprehensive list of bishops’ statements, responses

By ENS staff
Posted Dec 8, 2014

[Episcopal News Service] An interfaith coalition of clergy, including Episcopalians, gathered at St. Paul’s Chapel on lower Broadway in New York City Dec. 8 for a prayer service in advance of a walk to City Hall where they delivered a clergy-signed letter to elected officials in response to a Dec. 3 grand jury decision not to indict a police officer in the death of Eric Garner.

The letter made the following requests of the elected officials,

  • To join us in calling on New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to automatically appoint a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute all excessive force and wrongful death cases by police officers, and in particular, to immediately appoint a special prosecutor in the wrongful death of Eric Garner.
  • That the New York City Council would expedite a draft legislation making the chokehold illegal, with significant penalties for any officer who uses it (New York City police have been prohibited by department policy from using chokeholds for the past 20 years).

The New York grand jury’s decision came a little more than a week after a St. Louis County grand jury on Nov. 24 decided not to indict Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting death of Michael Brown.

Protests, sometimes violent, have continued throughout the nation in the wake of both grand jury decisions.

Also, Episcopal News Service has compiled a list of diocesan statements made in the aftermath of either or both of the grand jury decisions. The statements include:

Diocese of Arizona
http://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3168931

Diocese of California
http://diocal.org/pcn/news/statement-rt-rev-marc-handley-andrus-regarding-protests-ferguson-and-around-country

Diocese of Chicago
http://www.episcopalchicago.org/our-stories/2014/11/26/there-only-lamentation-bishop-lee-ferguson

Diocese of Connecticut
https://www.episcopalct.org/news/statement-from-the-bishops-of-the-episcopal-church-in-connecticut/

Diocese of Fort Worth
http://episcopaldiocesefortworth.org/bishop-high-on-immigration-ferguson/

Diocese of Kansas
http://www.episcopal-ks.org/bishop/Ferguson-Mo-Nov-2014.php

Diocese of Long Island
http://www.dioceselongisland.org/news_spotlightDetail.php?Public-Statement-on-Ferguson-Missouri-by-the-Right-Reverend-Lawrence-C.-Provenzano-90

Diocese of Massachusetts
http://www.diomass.org/diocesan-news/bishops-call-prayer-dialogue-and-renewed-dedication-following-ferguson-unrest

Diocese of Milwaukee
http://milwaukeebishop.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/ferguson-and-advent/

Diocese of Missouri
http://www.diocesemo.org/ministries/diocesan/ferguson/

Diocese of Nevada
http://bishopdansblog.blogspot.com/2014/12/healing-wound-of-ferguson-too-lightly.html

Diocese of New Jersey
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2014/11/25/new-jersey-bishop-stokes-statement-on-ferguson-missouri/

Diocese of New York
http://www.dioceseny.org/news_items/286-bp-dietsche-on-the-garner-and-brown-grand-jury-decisions

Diocese of Newark
http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/bishops-blog/thanksgiving-reflections-ferguson

Diocese of Northern Michigan
http://www.dioup.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3168744

Diocese of Olympia
https://bishoprickel.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/ferguson-and-happy-thanksgiving/

Diocese of Southern Ohio
http://www.diosohio.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3168846

Diocese of Springfield
http://cariocaconfessions.blogspot.com/2014/11/as-bishop-i-am-quasi-public-figure.html

Diocese of Texas
http://texasbishop.blogspot.com/2014/11/prayer-for-united-states.html

Diocese of Washington and Washington National Cathedral
http://www.edow.org/article/statement-of-bishop-mariann-budde-and-dean-gary-hall-on-the-grand-jury-decision-in-the-case-of-michael-brown/

Diocese of West Missouri
http://www.diowestmo.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3168752

Diocese of Western New York
http://episcopalwny.org/statement-to-the-diocese-on-the-aftermath-of-ferguson

Diocese of Western North Carolina
http://www.diocesewnc.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/3168868


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