A Message from Synod Moderator Leslie Latham

From the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, part of this week’s lection:

 “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son and son against father,
mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

On Friday morning, August 12, as controversial author Salman Rushdie was preparing to take the stage in the Amphitheater at Chautauqua Institution in western New York State, he was stabbed by an assailant who was quickly apprehended and taken into custody. Hundreds, including many from the nearby Presbyterian House, watched in horror and were immediately evacuated from the Amphitheater.

As for many of you, Chautauqua for me has been a place of refuge, learning, entertainment, and yes, sometimes controversy. But it has always been a haven of safety, a place where people could disagree convivially over a picnic or a glass of wine. Today, that safety was shattered.

Dr. Rushdie was put under an edict of execution by the religious leadership in Iran after publishing The Satanic Verses in 1998, but that has since been rescinded. He continues to be a polarizing figure. However, he has also spoken out broadly for humanitarian causes.

The verses above from this week’s gospel are shockingly appropriate for such a time as this. We lift in prayer all who have been wounded in body, mind and spirit from yet another trauma in our little corner of the world. Lord in your mercy, we dare to pray for peace in Chautauqua, Buffalo, and around the world.

We have contacted Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to be on alert for our presbytery. PDA is a wealth of resources, and I have attached a PDF of liturgical resources that may be of use, should you wish to have a prayer service. Alas, I see no end to such needs.

We thank you for your prayers.

Peace,

Leslie Latham
Moderator, Synod of the Northeast