Today we are in mourning. As we were still reeling from the distressing news out of Baton Rouge and the Twin Cities area, we watched helplessly as horror unfolded in Dallas. Five police officers now lay dead and a city is yet collecting answers.

Just as we’ve condemned the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, we and Stated Clerk J. Herbert Nelson II fervently condemn the senseless violence that has stolen the lives of five children of God and wounded at least six others. Additionally, these acts of violence have obfuscated the intent of the peaceful protesters who were being protected by the police. We seek answers, and we have very few at this time. We are simply left with the terror we all feel right now.

Once again the nation, and the African American community, in particular, is faced with two more high-profile killings of African American males. Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile of the Twin Cities area of Minnesota are the latest among a long list of publicized and unjustified killings by law enforcement officers in the United States. The questionable nature of African American males and females dying at the hands of police in our streets and in police custody is so pervasive in the United States that the U.S. Justice Department is leading the investigation in the Sterling case and has been asked to investigate the Castile case.

The grace of Christ be with you. We write out of our deep love for you to express our concern and assure you of our support in this painful time.

Our hearts are broken daily as we hear of devastation caused by individuals and groups motivated by prejudice, hatred, and religious bigotry. Their violence seems to know no bounds, as innocent children and adults are victimized by shootings, bombings, and acts of war.

<한국어> One of the most well-known notions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is our connectionalism. In addition to our connection through our polity and through our commitment to the gospel and relationship with the Trinity, one of the other things that binds Presbyterians is per capita, that universal funding source drawn from the whole church in order to support the whole church.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) joins the people of Turkey and the world in expressing our profound sorrow in the aftermath of the attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport on June 28, 2016. We deplore this attack and all acts of terror wherever they occur.