As members of the Coalition for Mutual Respect, a group of religious leaders who come together under the auspices of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to promote interfaith understanding and speak out with a unified voice on matters of importance to us, we plead  to our elected representatives:

End the epidemic of gun violence plaguing our country. Take action now. We plead with our country’s leaders to listen to the voices of the young people whose lives are forever marred
by  the continuation of inaction.

As leaders of faith, we especially recognize the power of prayer but denounce the use of words “thoughts and prayers” as a shield from responsive and meaningful action.

We encourage Houston’s faith communities to come together to speak out on this issue. We resolve that we will speak of this issue not only in our respective houses of worship, but in our neighborhoods and our communities.

We will continue to support our young people who are meeting special interest groups head on. We encourage our schools and communities to do the same.

 

Reverend Jim Bankston                                                    
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church

Ghulam Bombaywala

Michael Y. Chou

Pastor Harvey Clemons
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church

Reverend C. Andrew Doyle
IX Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Rabbi Samuel Karff
Congregation Beth Israel

Basheer Khumawala

Reverend William A. “Bill” Lawson
Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church

Sister Jane Meyer
St. Agnes Academy

Pastor Steven Quill

Regina Rogers

Bishop Michael Rinehart
Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod

J. Michael Solar

J. Michael Treviño

For more information or to set up an interview, call Dena Marks at 832-567-8843.