Members of the Diocese of Buffalo expressed solidarity in prayer with people advocating for justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests.
Standing outside Diocese headquarters in downtown Buffalo Tuesday morning, Apostic Administrator Bishop Edward Scharfenberger said his faith teaches him to bring people together in times of turmoil.
“The heart of our faith is a God that we believe loves everybody,” Scharfenberger said. “No matter what our ethnicity is, or status or race.”
Scharfenberger said over 150 years of trying to improve race relations in the country has proven the situation cannot be solved politically and when politicians have failed, religious institutions can step up.
“It has to start at the grassroots,” he said. “It has to start with the change of hearts. And I think the way we do that is first of all is accepting that we all need to change. Our apporach is to bring people together to listen, and to pray for the gift to be able to change.”
When it comes to police reform, Scharfenberger said he supports law enforcement and advocates giving them the best training available.
