Brothers and Sisters,
You will find on this email a link to an alert from the NYPD regarding plans being made by Anti-Semitic Hate Groups to engage in a "Day of Hate" tomorrow, as the Jewish communities around us observe Shabbos on February 25th. Please read the alert here.
As religious leaders within the communities we serve, it is our responsibility and duty to stand in solidarity with our Jewish siblings in the face of this extraordinarily sinful effort.
I am asking each of you to take the time and make the effort to extend your support to the local synagogues and members of the Jewish community immediately.
Hate, bigotry, and prejudice should have no place or accommodation in our communities.
I am asking also that each and every congregation, on this First Sunday of Lent, specifically pray for the safety and protection of the Jewish community.
Pray this weekend that the God of Abraham continue to bless our common witness to love and peace in the world and by God’s grace eliminate the hate and fear that possesses the hearts of those who seek to destroy the children of God.
The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano
Bishop of Long Island