IHM Congregation's Response to Killings in Pittsburgh

We, Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scranton, PA) affirm the dignity and worth of all people.  We grieve deeply for the precious lives violently taken by the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and for the climate of violence which threatens our national soul.

We hold in tenderness and prayer the entire Jewish community, those who have died, those wounded or traumatized, the families, friends, and loved ones whose lives are forever shaken or shattered by this tragedy.  We pray also for our nation, that we may recommit to the values that have long sustained and united us.  As we give thanks for all that is good and beautiful in those gone from us, we also lament what has been lost, what they might have offered to our world.

In this time of shared sorrow, we invite others to join us, to move beyond words into acts of compassion, understanding, and healing, so that we might work together to bring about God’s dream for our beautiful, yet wounded world.