Area ministers address Orlando tragedy

Dear Cape Girardeau Community:

Last Sunday morning, in the early hours of the morning, 49 people were killed and dozens of others were injured at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The current state of the investigation seems to point to the fact that the shooter was motivated by thoughts of hatred directed towards those in the LGBTQ community.

Those of us who serve you as religious leaders in your community would like to affirm the following statements:

• While we acknowledge that there is diversity among us in our interpretations of certain biblical passages pertaining to LGBTQ issues, we all strongly condemn any act of violence and any rhetoric of hate towards any fellow human being.
• Though the shooter personally aligned himself with Islam, we affirm that his actions do not represent Islam: the Islam that prays, that is concerned for those in need, that desires peace. His actions were not legitimate expressions of faith, but were instead fueled by his demented ideology.
• We are sick and tired of seeing stories in the news of unnecessary gun violence. We know the issues surrounding firearms are complicated and convoluted, but we hope our nation can soon come to reasonable and sensible gun laws to curb the violence happening in our streets.

Finally, we want to affirm the words of this hymn by Peter Scholtes:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord

And we pray that our unity will one day be restored

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side

We will work with each other, we will work side by side

And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love

Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

Peace, Shalom, Salaam

Rev. Tyler Tankersley,

pastor of First Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau

Rev. Dr. Kim L. Nelson,

pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Cape Girardeau

Rev. Edith Bird,

pastor of Christ Episcopal Church of Cape Girardeau

Rev. Stan Hargis,

pastor of Hobbs Chapel and hospice chaplain at Southeast Hospital

Rev. Tammy Hargis,

pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church of Oran

Rev. Renita Marie Lamkin Green,

pastor of St. James AME

Church of Cape

Rev. Dave Conley,

senior pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church of Cape

Rev. Michael Davis,

Reagan's Chapel/Pine Hill United Methodist Churches

Rev. Bryan Schaefer,

pastor of Maple Street

United Methodist Church

Fr. David Hulshof,

pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church

Rev. Joel Kidwell,

pastor of Zion United Methodist Church of Gordonville

Breita V. Church,

executive director of Love In the Name of Christ, Southeast Missouri