Message for April 2021
Just Stop
By The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer -
We live in a deeply divided nation. That statement is clearly an understatement as events of the last weeks and months show.
However, I hope we can agree on some things:
- That an unarmed black man, accused only of passing a counterfeit $20 bill, should not die at the hands of the police,
- That an unarmed black man, stopped because of an air freshener on his car’s rear-view mirror, should not end of dead,
- That a black military officer, on his way home after a long day of active-duty service to our nation, should not have to be in fear for his life for a false-traffic stop.
I hope we can all agree that something is wrong in this nation, that something terribly wrong with local policing. Something must change so that black men do not continue to die at the hands of police in such questionable circumstances.
Something must change.
One of my black friends posted this yesterday on Facebook: “Stop killing us - my daddy, my brother, my husband, my son, my nephews, my grandsons, my cousins, my friends...just stop.”
We must find a way to change the way we do local policing in this nation. Stop the needless killing. Just stop.
The Rev. Eric Christopher Shafer
Senior Pastor - Mt. Olive Lutheran Church
Santa Monica, California
April 14, 2021
