Officers grieve ‘mobilization of hatred,’ mass murders in California shootings

The national officers of the United Church of Christ offer public condolences after two mass shootings in three days in California claim the lives of 18 people. In Monterey Park on Saturday, Jan. 21, 11 Asian Americans were killed and nine others injured during a Lunar New Year celebration at a local dance studio. Two days later, in the rural community of Half Moon Bay, seven people were killed and one critically injured in related shootings in two locations in the coastal city south of San Francisco.

The national setting of the United Church of Christ mourns with the nation the tragic deaths of those killed in Half Moon Bay and in Monterey Park, and we pray for the families and communities grieving this tragic loss of life. On Saturday evening in Monterey Park, what should have been a festive celebration of the Lunar New Year became a horror in a matter of moments. Our hearts are broken for these families and for a world where the mobilization of hatred continues to be aided by our refusal to responsibly regulate guns. May these grieving families feel our love and know our commitment to change. 

The Elected Officers of the United Church of Christ 

The Rev. John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President
The Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister and Vice President
The Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson, Associate General Minister and Vice President

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