An excerpt from the New York Times:
“Shortly after midnight on March 13, Louisville police, executing a search warrant, used a battering ram to crash into the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American emergency room technician. After a brief confrontation, they fired several shots, striking her at least eight times.
According to The Louisville Courier Journal, the police were investigating two men who they believed were selling drugs out of a house that was far from Ms. Taylor’s home. But a judge had also signed a warrant allowing the police to search Ms. Taylor’s residence because the police said they believed that one of the two men had used her apartment to receive packages. The judge’s order was a so-called “no-knock” warrant, which allowed the police to enter without warning or without identifying themselves as law enforcement.”
Justice for Breonna is far from accomplished and we believe that justice is close to the heart of God.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.”
Do you remember that Beattitude from our LENT series? Do remember how we translated it to at least add “justice”, if not replace “righteousness” with “justice” altogether? Depending on your translation the New Testament might be more about justice than we ever imagined. In fact, when looking at the Bible and Christian tradition as a whole, JUSTICE is at the very heart of what we espouse.
Justice goes beyond simply pursuing equality or equity. Justice requires fixing a system that is unequal to begin with. Justice, in short, means making wrongs right and making those wrongs are not committed again.
Although incomplete, justice is underway for Amaud Arbery and George Floyd. On the other hand, there has been no steps toward justice in Breonna Taylor’s killing. This might come across as “not our fight” to you since we did not know Breonna nor is our mission or call as a church anywhere near where she lived and worked. But at this moment it is especially pertinent that we heed the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” And as we said above: justice is at the heart of the faith we espouse.
You’ll find three actionable things you can do for Breonna on what would have been her 27th birthday
MAKE A DONATION to help support her family.
SIGN THE PETITION and make it known that you want justice for Breonna.
CALL 502.574.7111 and demand that officers: Jon Mattingly, Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove are brought to justice.