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The effects of these murders on the human beings directly involved is, of course, itself terrible. And in addition, once we realized this was an explicit and deliberate attack on all progressive and prophetic religious life, it became clear that we owe our concern not only for those directly affected but for our country and for the world, so deeply scarred by fanaticism and violence in the name of religion.
No religious tradition is immune from this perversion of its message, and no religious community is immune from the terrible damage that results.
With the Jewish holy fast day of Tisha B'Av (August 10) arriving, commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 C.E. (among other events), we are taught by the Talmud Tractate Gittin (page 55 et. al.) that the blame falls on the shoulders on Jews treating each other with ''baseless hatred,'' with cliquishness, with infighting to include murder, and with their Rabbis doing nothing to stop it, and not on the shoulders of the Romans.
My Talmudim (adult students), Rebbetzin Ellen and I send the whole UU community blessings that the courage and perseverance in God's work of peace and justice that I know you already feel will be strengthened by the outpouring of shared sorrow, spiritual solidarity, and determination that I know surrounds you now.
Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hilton Head Island, SC
Bluffton, SC
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(My sincere thanks to Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center, as always, reminding me to ask God for the courage to ''not stand idly by'', and for always providing appropriate words to use to do so.)
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Gunman opens fire in Tennessee church, 2 killed
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a church youth performance Sunday (July 27,2008) and killed two people, including a man who witnesses called a hero for shielding others from a shotgun blast.
Seven adults were also injured but no children were harmed at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Church members said they dove under pews or ran from the building when the shooting started.
The gunman was tackled by congregants and eventually taken into police custody.
Jim D. Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder and was being held on $1 million bail, according to city spokesman Randy Kenner, who did not know if the suspect had retained an attorney. Authorities were searching Adkisson's home in the Knoxville bedroom community of Powell, Kenner said.
The man slain was identified as Greg McKendry, 60, a longtime church member and usher. Church member Barbara Kemper told The Associated Press that McKendry "stood in the front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest of us."
Linda Kreager, 61, died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center a few hours after the shooting, Knoxville city spokesman Randall Kenner said.
Five people remained hospitalized, all in critical or serious condition. Two others were treated and released.
The gunman's motive is not yet known. The church, like many other Unitarian Universalist churches, promotes progressive social work, such as desegregation and fighting for the rights of women and gays. The Knoxville congregation has provided sanctuary for political refugees, fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site.
Kemper said the gunman shouted before he opened fire.
"It was hateful words. He was saying hateful things," she said, but refused to elaborate.
The FBI was assisting in the case in case it turns out be a hate crime, Police Chief Sterling Owen said. Police were taking statements from witnesses and collecting video cameras from church members who taped the performance.
There were about 200 people watching a performance by 25 children based on the musical "Annie" when the shooting took place.
Church member Mark Harmon said he was in the first row. "It had barely begun when there was an incredibly loud bang," he said.
Harmon said he thought the noise was part of the play, then he heard a second loud bang. As he dove for cover, he realized a woman behind him was bleeding. She looked like she was in shock, touching her wound, he said.
"It seems so unreal," Harmon said. "You're sitting in church, you're watching a children's performance of a play and suddenly you hear a bang."
Harmon said church members just behind him in the second and third rows were shot. His wife told him that she saw the gunman pull the shotgun out of a guitar case.
Witnesses reported hearing about three blasts from the .12-gauge shotgun, which spreads pellets out when the shot leaves the barrel. Witnesses said they did not recognize the gunman.
Church members said the gunman was tackled by John Bohstedt, who played "Daddy Warbucks" in the performance. He declined comment when reached by phone at his home.
Friends of McKendry said he was friendly with everyone.
"Greg McKendry was a very large gentlemen, one of those people you might describe as a refrigerator with a head," said member Schera Chadwick, whose husband, Ted Lollis, arrived at the church just after the shooting. "He looked like a football player. He did obviously stand up and put himself in between the shooter and the congregation."
McKendry and his wife had recently taken in a foster child.
The church's minister was on vacation in western North Carolina at the time of the shooting but returned Sunday afternoon.
"We've been touched by a horrible act of violence. We are in a process of healing and we ask everyone for your prayers," the Rev. Chris Buice said in a statement outside the church. "I will tell you we love Greg McKendry. We are grieving the loss of a wonderful man."
Associated Press writers Beth Rucker in Knoxville and Cara Rubinsky and Anna Varela in Atlanta contributed to this report
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