Living God's love amid domestic terrorism

In the Baptismal Covenant of The Book of Common Prayer, we make promises to God based on our faith in him and in his incarnate love, Jesus Christ.

As the followers of Christ, we pledge to resist evil; to to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ; to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; and to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.

To each promise, we say, "We will, with God's help."

On Sunday, August 13, church members and I gathered for worship at Christ Episcopal Church, Springfield, Mo.

Together, we reviewed and remembered our Baptismal Covenant.

And then I spoke about the violence that had occurred the day before in Charlottesville, Va., where white supremacists, armed and eager to incite violence, rallied for hatred.

Counter-demonstrator Heather Heyer was killed, and dozens of people were seriously injured, when a vehicle was driven into the crowd by a white supremacist.  U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions later said the attack was an act of "domestic terrorism."

(Two police officers, deployed as part of the law-enforcement operation, also died when their helicopter crashed.)

Here is what I said to my congregation:

"I am part of a clergy group planing a response by the faith community to the hate and violence and the death and destruction that occurred yesterday in Charlottesville, Virginia, where KKK, neo-Nazis and others marched for white supremacy.

"I grieve for the loss of life in Charlottesville yesterday and pray for those who died and for comfort for their families.

"I support the constitutional right to peaceful assembly and free speech, however vile that speech is.

"I deplore the evil of hate and violence and the odious ideology of white supremacy, which are hostile to Christ and to the gospel of God's love for all humankind.

"I urge us all to pray for healing in Charlottesville and throughout America, where hatred is resurgent and to work of a country where the rule of law is respected, hatred condemned, violence defeated, and all people live in love, justice and peace."