Our world has been shaken by the violent slayings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others like them. Our hearts are broken with pain, anger, fatigue, and fear over the wounds to our communities and the racism that oppresses our cherished brothers and sisters in Christ. These things ought not to be.
As a faith-based community, we believe that God hears our anguished prayers and welcomes a heart-searching repentance that reveals complicity. We also raise our voices in protest and commit our lives to action. Walla Walla University joins a chorus of voices in condemning these murders and invites all people to join our university community in changing the attitudes and habits that have motivated them.
In service to the Walla Walla University mission, which states that “every person is created in the image of God as a being of inestimable value and worth, imbued with powers of intelligence, stewardship, and creativity akin to those of the Creator,” each university stakeholder is called to ask, “Lord, what would you have us do? What needs to change? How can I, and how can we, be that change?”
Walla Walla University is committed to standing with all who feel threatened and vulnerable in view of these tragic circumstances. We pledge to continue careful institutional work to realize our mission of fostering a deeper appreciation for each other. In this moment we invite the entire university family to join us in the personal work of raising a lament, raising our voices against injustice, and reflecting carefully, deeply, and prayerfully on our shared lives together.
John K. McVay
President, Walla Walla University
Read additional statements from WWU partners:
North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
North American Divison of Seventh-day Adventists
Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
Posted June 2, 2020
