In a letter in today's Des Moines Register, The Des Moines Area Religious Council publicly rejects the message of hate directed toward the Jewish community by the Westboro Baptist Church.
The JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines is grateful to DMARC for issuing its statement. To DMARC, thank you.
-- Mark Finkelstein, JCRC Director, Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines
July 24, 2009 Letter to the Editor, Des Moines Register
Help neighbors, reject message of hate
It has come to our attention that a group from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., plans to further its hate-filled agenda today by picketing the Iowa Jewish Historical Society in Waukee.
We are an interfaith organization through which local people from 10 different religions have discovered indescribable joy in coming together for more than 50 years to learn about each other and to assist our neighbors.
Out of a shared commitment to doing good, we partner with many other organizations, both faith-based and secular, to provide food, child-care subsidies, housing and energy assistance and mentoring to whomever needs our help.
The vile, anti-Semitic message that Westboro Baptist plans to bring to our community has been heralded by the advance distribution of a press release setting out in some detail their disturbing, hate-filled agenda.
We reject this congregation's message. In addition, we pledge to use this afternoon to do something decent and caring beyond the good we already do every day - and we invite everyone in Des Moines to join us.
In particular, we encourage you to reach out the open hand of friendship to our Jewish neighbors who have so unfairly and so often been the target of this kind of abuse.
- The Rev. Sarai Schnucker Rice, executive director,
and The Rev. Dr. John Holcombe, president, administrative cabinet,
Des Moines Area Religious Council, Des Moines
