Saturday, a gruesome mass murder shocked our nation. In Pittsburgh, PA, eleven innocent people were massacred by a gunman at the Tree of Life Synagogue and six more were injured.  There are three floors to this Synagogue, each housing a congregation.

The gunman had four guns and he used them all, with attacks on all three floors. It was a horrific hate crime — a devastating murder in a sanctuary that was motivated by hatred of all Jewish people. 

As you may remember, my sister and I made a community quilt for the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC with 200 messages of love and respect for that congregation.  It was delivered just before the second anniversary of the racially motivated massacre in their sanctuary, a shooting that took the lives of nine people.  Thanks to the kindness of a couple of Kossacks (especially Gordon20024), Ann and I were able to deliver that quilt in person — and we learned firsthand just how much it meant to the people of Mother Emanuel that a group of people from all over the country did this for them.

It is right that we make a community quilt for the people of the Tree of Life Synagogue, too.  The intent this massacre was to create terror.  Let us make something very personal, a group message of love, respect, and deepest sympathy writ large, a permanent keepsake that will remind the three congregations that people all over the country — even around the world — are thinking of them with loving-kindness and that we are all stand together with them in our hearts.  Words have power.  This will matter.  The quilt will resonate with love and respect for years and years to come.

We have a very different design in mind for the Tree of Life quilt, one that won’t have a set number of messages as the star pattern shown above does.  As many who would like to put words on this quilt can.  Just leave your words in the comments below — something pithy, not too wordy — and if you feel inclined, include your State and or City.  We will want to show that this love is pouring in from everywhere. I will {{{{hug}}}} you in answer to your message-comment to let you know I have copied it to my list.