Dear Tanenbaum Community,
We are devastated by the news of a former student opening fire during Mass at a Catholic School in Minneapolis, leaving two children dead and 18 others injured.
Houses of worship must remain the safe spaces they were created to be – dedicated places for prayer, ritual, and sanctuary. There have been at least 841 reported attacks on houses of worship in the United States in 2024, and this is the fifth school shooting reported in 2025.
Words of lament have become far too frequent. In 2019, our Peacemakers in Action united to denounce the proliferation of dangerous weapons and the rhetoric of hate behind America’s epidemic of mass shootings. It is heartbreaking how often we have had to return to their words in response to ongoing mass shootings in the U.S. Regrettably, I once again echo their call.
Violence against houses of worship, which leaves families and communities in fear and mourning, is a horrific cycle that must end.
No community should have to endure the terror of seeing their house of worship turned into a place of grief. Our hearts are with the families, friends, and community in Minneapolis who are now facing unimaginable loss.
With sympathy,
Rev. Mark Fowler,
CEO, Tanenbaum