This week our Jewish neighbours celebrate Hanukkah, the festival of light and dedication, an enduring witness to faith, courage and the longing for freedom of religion. In the shadow of the antisemitic attack at Bondi, many Jewish families are carrying fear, grief, anger and trauma. We must not look away.
Lugar Brae (Bronte) Uniting Church condemns antisemitism. When any community is targeted, the whole neighbourhood is wounded, because community is precious. We also name a deeper danger, the habit of dehumanising one another. This too is abhorrent, and it corrodes our shared life.
In this season of Hanukkah lights, we commit ourselves to empathy, education and relationship, listening to Jewish voices, learning what is respectful, and standing alongside our neighbours in practical ways. We pray for protection for families, schools, synagogues and mosques, and we give thanks for first responders who carry risk on our behalf.
May we choose neighbour-love over suspicion, courage over silence, and solidarity over fear. May light overcome darkness, here in Waverley and across our city.
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The Rev. Andrew Collis is supply minister at Lugar Brae Uniting Church in Bronte.
