The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council stands together with all organizations and communities which work for peace and harmony among faiths.
The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council invites “people of our community, in every church, temple synagogue, home and wherever you may be, to come together in a Prayer for Community Peace at 1:00pm CST on Sunday, April 20.”
Statement of the Moderator
Religions for Peace USA
Concerning the Tragic Murders at Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, Kansas
April 13, 2014
On the morning of Sunday, April 13, an assailant approached the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, shouted vile and hateful remarks at the community members and opened fire on an elderly gentleman and his grandchild – the two were immediately killed. Several minutes later the suspect shot and killed a woman outside of the Village Shalom, a Jewish assisted living center. The assailant then opened fire on several other members, injuring none. The assailant was apprehended and is in custody of the Overland Park Police.
These are reprehensible acts of violence and religiously based prejudice and must be condemned in the strongest terms possible. There is no justification for these acts. This is especially so near a place of community and amongst innocent and unarmed civilians.
Our heartfelt condolences are extended to the affected families and congregation and the wider Jewish community.
The leadership of Religions for Peace USA, which is comprised of senior representatives of more than 60 US religious communities, offers our heartfelt condolences and pledges of support to the leadership and families of the Jewish Community Center of Overland Park, the wider Jewish community, and all those affected by this tragedy.
Representatives from a vast array of religious communities – Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Native American, Shinto, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist, and Zoroastrian – who compromise Religions for Peace in the United States and beyond stand in steadfast solidarity with their Jewish colleagues and the people of faith and goodwill who were the victims of these heinous attacks.
Religions for Peace USA is part of the world’s largest interreligious organization – Religions for Peace, which has a presence in over 90 countries around the globe and which has a respected track record of more than four decades working to transform conflict and end violence.
Thanks to a generous foundation partnership, Religions for Peace USA’s central work during 2012-14 is the development of a long-term, multi-party, collective impact approach to combating religious discrimination. Religions for Peace USA recommits itself to a path of education, outreach, and compassion in the face of such intolerance and violence.
Messages of condolence and solidarity should be sent to:
Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City
5801 W 115 Street
Overland Park, KS 66211
To read the full GKCIC statement, please click here.