#WeAreOrlando – Solidarity with those lost and injured in terror attack #OnePulse #LoveWins

SUCH a sad few days since news of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub broke on Sunday. The worst terror attack on US soil since 9/11, the worst gun crime in US history, and perhaps the largest murder of LGBT people since the Holocaust. How do we respond in the face of such horror?

Victims of the shooting at Pulse gay night club, Orlando

I have struggled to find my own words, but my husband and I, as co-facilitators of Open Table, a monthly Christian service for LGBT people, friends family and allies in Liverpool, UK, I have shared on our community Facebook group a range of responses, including my own:

Pray for the victims, the attacker (also killed), and especially those who will judge this incident with homophobia, islamophobia and racism not compassion.

Some Church leaders have issued responses – Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church Michael Curry recorded a video offering prayers for the victims of the Orlando shooting, recognizing the significance of this event as part of the struggle for equal civil rights for all people. The Vatican released a statement from Pope Francis which was criticized for not acknowledging the LGBT identities of the victims. The Church of England at first recycled its prayer for Paris and Lahore, then the Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued a joint statement which, while it did acknowledge that LGBT people were the victims of this brutal incident, was criticized for not going far enough in acknowledging the role of Christian communities in contributing to (and challenging) homophobia. Following such criticism, the Church of England issued a new prayer for Orlando which named

all whose identity makes them the ready target of hatred and violence

and called for

a world where all are celebrated for who they are as your children.

The leaders of the UK Methodist Conference issued a powerful statement expressing solidarity with the LGBTI community and apologising for an earlier statement that did not go far enough. Meanwhile the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross wrote on Twitter:


Revd Rachel Mann, a trans vicar at Manchester Cathedral, shared this beautiful prayer, which we will pray together when we meet for our monthly service this Sunday, incorporating a vigil for the victims of this hate crime in Orlando.

It was moving to see so many people take to the streets of Orlando, London, Liverpool, and other cities in solidarity with the victims, survivors, and the LGBT community worldwide as this event highlights our vulnerability in a world which struggles to accept our diversity.

One of the responses we found most moving was this tweet:


In our monthly bulletin to the Open Table community this week, I shared this message and wrote:

We can honestly say that each and every one of you matter to us. We want you to know that, if you were in any doubt.

I realised at this point that I was sharing with others words of hope and comfort that I really needed to hear myself. It is hard (but not impossible) for people who are not LGBT to understand the impact of this incident (and too many others like it around the world). Alex Darke, from Texas, expressed it well in his Facebook post this week:

When you hear interviewers talking to LGBT folks and they say “It could have been here. It could have been me,” they aren’t exaggerating. I don’t care how long you’ve been out, how far down your road to self acceptance and love you’ve traveled, we are always aware that we are at some level of risk.

I won’t dwell on the responses from those who, in the name of religion, have claimed that:

Less obvious, and perhaps more insidious, are those who cannot name that this was an attack specifically targeted at LGBT people. In the case of some Christians, this is because that would mean they have to acknowledge our right to exist at all, as this Facebook post from the founder of Diverse Church demonstrates:

I don’t think they realise how painful their words are to every LGBT person listening… what they’re communicating (overtly or covertly) is that they don’t care that people like us were killed. In a world where it is a very real possibility that we could be, in a country where every LGBT person I know has experienced looks of hatred and experienced fear of physical violence if they hold hands with someone in the wrong street, THEIR REACTION SEEMS LIKE THE LEAST CHRIST LIKE THING THEY COULD DO!

It has emerged that the Orlando attacker may have been a gay man ashamed of his sexuality because of his understanding of religion. I pray that out of this tragedy may come greater awareness of the damage of stigma and prejudice and the power of love, especially love between LGBT people.

All of humanity shares #OnePulse

But the simplest and most profound response I have seen was this meme, referencing the name of the nightclub, Pulse, so called in memory of the owner’s brother who died from AIDS.

All of humanity shares #OnePulse

While it is vital to celebrate our diversity and difference, it’s also important at times like this to remember that we each have more in common with the rest of humanity that what sets us apart.

Let’s come together in compassion and keep striving to ensure #LoveWins.

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2016/06/17/weareorlando-solidarity-with-those-lost-and-injured-in-terror-attack-onepulse-lovewins/

2 pings

  1. […] of 80 in 2014 and 150 in 2016 (December 2015 was not recorded). Other peaks include 42 for our vigil for the victims of the Orlando shooting in June 2016, and 62 for Bishop Paul’s second visit in August […]

  2. […] body, one heart, one mind, and we all shared one pulse. The significance of this march after the hate crime in Orlando and others that go unreported is huge. Liverpool Pride gets bigger and better each year, and it is […]

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