Camino Chaplaincy priest asks for prayers for justice and peace in Kenosha

Photo by Jack Sharp on Unsplash

On 23 August in Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shot an African American, Jacob Blake, in the back, at close range, several times, in front of his 3 sons. Mr Blake has survived, but may be paralysed from the waist down. Public officials are calling for a thorough investigation of the shooting, and a reckoning with the broader issues of racial injustice.  

Meanwhile protests have been seen in Kenosha in the aftermath of this event; sadly some of these protests have turned violent and destructive. One of our locum clergy who is connected to the Camino Chaplaincy (in Santiago de Compostela), the Revd Fr Matthew Buterbaugh is the Rector of St Matthew's Episcopal Church, a parish in downtown Kenosha, close to the centre of the unrest. Fr Matthew has been in communication with Fr Bob Bates, our Lead Chaplain for the Camino Chaplaincy, who has been circulating requests for prayer for Kenosha. Fr Matthew says "I greatly appreciate that, and I am heartened to be a part of the diocesan community in Europe, who are reaching out and praying. I, and a number of interfaith clergy, marched in a peaceful protest earlier yesterday [Monday] evening, before things became more heated overnight. Please do pray for justice and peace in our time". 

Fr Matthew reports that they have had to board up some windows in the Church office on account of the vandalism. However, he stresses, "I continuously remind people in this time that buildings and windows can be replaced, but human lives cannot." 

It has been barely three months since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our Diocese marked that event with a prayer service for racial justice on 13 June. 

Pray for healing for Jacob Blake, for justice to be served in his case, and for peace in Kenosha.

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