From the Ministry staff: Walter Wallace Jr. statement
On Monday afternoon, Philadelphia police shot and killed Walter Wallace Jr. after responding to a report of a man with a knife. In a video of the incident, Mr. Wallace is seen lying near death as his mother weeps over him. Our hearts break for Walter’s family, especially his mother who tried to calm him, and deescalate the situation, as he was going through a mental health crisis. After repeatedly asking the officers not to shoot, she watched her son’s life end in a hail of bullets.
Walter Wallace was a Black man whose life mattered to his mother, to his family, to his community, and to God. His life mattered to us. When one part of the body suffers, all parts suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26) and today many members of our Conference are suffering the emotional weight of learning about another Black life lost.
This weekend we celebrate the Reformation legacy left to us by a long list of protesting “Protest-ants” who called out abuses of power and authority both within and around the church. They sought to transform the way we honor Jesus, God and each other and the ways we live together in the church and the world. We have both a historic and moral imperative to keep faith with their witness by offering our own. We offer our prayers and support for people who work peacefully to transform policing in Philadelphia and around the nation for the benefit of all people and our law enforcement officers.
Violence is not a witness. Taking an eye for an eye, Mahatma Gandhi famously pointed out, would only leave the whole world blind. Attacking police officers and vandalizing places of business hurts people who are already struggling through a resurgence of the pandemic. These acts draw attention away from the real tragedy of Walter Wallace’s death, the pandemic of racism and our national struggle to effectively tend to the mental health assistance that so many require but too few receive.
We call on our pastors and congregations to be together this weekend in the spirit of prayer for the memory of Walter Wallace, for his grieving family, for the community of Philadelphia to heal divisions and work toward restorative justice. We call on pastors and congregations to be in conversation with their local leaders and decision makers to create the systemic changes that will bring us closer to the Beloved Community.
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
