NASHVILLE (JANUARY 19, 2024) —Today, a group of Christian pastors, leaders, influencers, and neighbors throughout the Nashville area have signed the following letter in a coordinated action with one another to support the Jewish community since the atrocities of October 7th and the resulting rising antisemitism.

To our Jewish Friends and Neighbors:

The events of October 7th were barbaric, and the growing antisemitism that has arisen in an insane turn of news events is stunning. Jewish people are being demonized at levels we have not seen since the 1930s.

As leaders and members in the church, we feel the heart of Daniel when he confessed the sins of his forefathers. Daniel took upon himself the sins of his people, even though he was not personally guilty of those sins. He read from Jeremiah about what God was doing in his day, then prayed, “We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and turned away from your commands,” (Daniel 9:5).

In like manner, we want to acknowledge the sins of our Christian forefathers and take them upon ourselves. The church has sinned against you. The church exiled you, confiscated your wealth and even killed you during the Inquisition in Spain in 1492. Many in the church turned away as you were killed in the gas chambers of Germany, Austria, and Poland in the last century. Even now, you are being reviled and persecuted, often feeling unsafe in our schools and universities in the United States of America. We are appalled at all of this and are determined to stand with you and to do everything within our power to protect you from such horrific acts in the future.

If the church, through the centuries, had simply obeyed our own scripture, there would have been no Inquisition in 1492 and there would have been many more Dietrich Bonhoeffers and Corrie ten Booms during the Holocaust.

We grieve over this, wanting you to know there are a growing number of us who are committed to stand with you during this moment in time. In heart and soul, we love you rooted in the common faith of your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. We commit to standing with you and walking beside you through these uncertain and difficult days.

Don Finto, Emeritus Pastor Belmont Church; Patricia Heaton, Actress and Producer; and several other pastors, Christian leaders, influencers, and loving neighbors of the Nashville Christian community.

–If you are Christian pastor, priest, leader, influencer or loving neighbor and wish to add your name to this letter, please fill out the form here [LINK]–