emailed condolences

Cathy Cordes from the UU Partner Church Council forwarded the following message from Bishop Bálint Benczédi Ferenc re yesterday's tragic bombings.

Dear friends!

We were shocked and saddened to hear about the bombs at the Boston Marathon. It is unthinkable that sound people would consider and prepare in cold blood the killing of their fellow beings. It is unthinkable, yet it happened, maiming and killing not just those present but in a way hurting all of us: it shattered once again our sense of safety and freedom, our ideals about human beings and our life. Please know that our prayers are with all of you and especially with the families of the victims and the wounded on their hospital bed. We pray for all of you to bear this tragedy with fortitude and be present with your love and compassion for those in need. At times like these it is very hard for the word of reason to be heard, yet our Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist legacy compels us to do so. We are reminded of Kipling`s poem "If": "If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating…"

We believe that those values for which we stand, cannot be wiped away by bombs, we cannot be frightened into silence and we will not give way to hating.

We wish you courage and determination for the days to come in being the voice of reason, love and compassion in the congregations and your society.

May God `s blessing be with us to give us strength to uphold our values and live by them.

With brotherly love Bálint Benczédi Ferenc Kolozsvar, the 16th of April, 2013.