On Saturday, October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel, sending missiles and militants across the border from the Gaza Strip, indiscriminately killing more than 1,300 people many of whom were civilians going about their daily lives waiting for the bus, dancing at a festival, doing morning chores, and hiding as best they could. These acts of terror are evil. We mourn the tragic loss of life and the lives that will inevitably be lost as Israel declares war and defends itself.
We stand with those who grieve.
The Franklin Interfaith Council is comprised of a variety of faith traditions that each understand war, and its necessity, differently. Some of us are staunch pacifists. Some of us believe war can only be waged in self-defense. And, still others, believe that war can be justified for reasons beyond self-defense. We hold many different beliefs yet, in our diversity, we all agree that war, justified or not, is always one atrocity after another. Our failure to fully comprehend the pain of war causes us to focus on the latest casualty, making it seem like the worst, diminishing or worse forgetting the loss that came before. In war, no atrocity is greater than any other. And so, we stand with those who grieve.
We look forward to the day when swords are beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, when “nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid” (Micah 4:3b-4a). But, until that day, we stand with those who grieve.
We look with hope toward a day when peace and justice are not competing torrents, but flow down together like water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (c.f. Amos 5:24). But, until that day, we stand with those who grieve.
The Franklin Interfaith Council stands together and supports all in our community who are grieving, especially our friends and neighbors at Temple Etz Chaim.
Questions about the Franklin Interfaith Council and this statement can be emailed to info@FranklinInterfaith.org.
The Franklin Interfaith Council (FIC) is an organization whose membership is composed of faith communities in the Town of Franklin, Massachusetts. The FIC addresses the various needs of its community by recognizing the power of faith as defined by each faith tradition it represents. The intent of the FIC is to sensitize the Franklin community to issues of deprivation and social justice, to promote tolerance and understanding through shared worship, programs, performances, and publications, and to bring the understanding of our faith traditions to bear on these issues.
The Franklin Interfaith Council members include First Universalist Society in Franklin, Franklin Federated Church, Franklin United Methodist Church, Temple Etz Chaim , The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, St. John’s Episcopal Church, The Parish of Saint Mary (Catholic Church).