Over the next week, many in our community will celebrate Easter and Passover. Whatever your faith, let us pause and reflect on the world around us.
Easter and Passover are stories of hope and inspiration for a brighter tomorrow — Moses leading the Israelites from captivity in Egypt to a promised land and Jesus rising from the dead to offer salvation to his followers.
We should each embrace that spirit and measure ourselves according to a belief in a better future.
Together, we have faced many tribulations. With extensive vaccination efforts underway, we now have hope that we will soon move past the COVID-19 pandemic. Our nation also grieves from two tragic mass shootings and faces again the incumbent soul-searching for long-term, meaningful solutions to gun violence.
Locally, I have spent time over the past three years as mayor building bridges to bring the different cultures and faiths of Fort Lauderdale together. My goal has been to look for opportunities of cooperation and understanding where they did not always exist before.
Differing opinions and values are ever present in a diverse city like Fort Lauderdale, but that’s part of our beauty. There is more that unites us than divides us. I firmly believe we can find common ground to make this city an even greater place to live, work and raise a family.
Isn’t that part of the message that families have passed down generation to generation about these holidays?
With Easter, we are taught of hope in the story of the risen Christ -- that God has the power to remove the stones in our heart. With Passover, we are taught of fraternity in the prayer spoken over the Matzo -- that we should let all who are hungry enter and eat.
On behalf of my colleagues on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, our warmest wishes for a Passover and Easter that are filled with the gifts of hope, compassion and unity.
Sincerely,
Dean
