To the Jewish Community of Pittsburgh (and all who would care to read)

I had not written sooner because I did not know what to say.  But the worst thing I could say is silence, and so forgive my fumbling attempt.

To the Jewish Community of Pittsburgh:
I love you.
Because my some of ancestors were Jews, I feel a special connection to you.
Because my Messiah was a Jew, I feel drawn to you.
Because my home is in Pittsburgh, the same as yours, I feel we are one people.
Because you care for the immigrant and the helpless, I feel we share a purpose.
Because some of my friends are Jewish, I feel we are friends.
Because you worship, pray, celebrate a life in our G-d, I feel we are the same.
Because your people have been persecuted, as have the faithful of the Church, I feel your pain.
But most of all, because you are...
Because you exist...
Because you were created in the image of G-d...
Because you are human...
I love you.
Love is not a feeling, it is a life-force which drives us to act....
Drives us to our knees...
Drives our very lives...
"Love one another, as I have loved you."
Because we share in the image of the one G-d, who made us one people, and who knit all people together in his one teaching,
I love you. 

Go in peace, those who have departed.
Remain in peace, those who remain.

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד