Vigil with Protect Minnesota and Moms Demand Action: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 8-9 p.m. at Lynnhurst Park. No formal program, please bring a candle if you’d like one. Shir Tikvah, across the street from the park, will be opening at 7 p.m. for singing and connection.
Find a Blood Donation Center near you.
Other vigils on Aug. 27 include: Annunciation Church/Academy of Holy Angels High School Gym. Public prayer vigil at 7 p.m. held at 6600 Nicollet Ave. S.
Lutheran Church of Christ Redeemer, 5540 Penn Ave. S. at 7 p.m.
- Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas/Minneapolis & St. Paul Jewish Federations
- Beth El Synagogue
- Beth Jacob Congregation
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
- Temple Israel
- Jewish Community Action
- Adath Jeshurun Congregation
- Smith Jewish Academy
- NCJW Minnesota
- Shir Tikvah
- Mayim Rabim
- Minnesota DFL Jewish Community Outreach Organization
- Mount Zion Temple
Joint statement from JCRC, Minneapolis and St. Paul Jewish Federations
“Anyone who destroys a single life, destroys an entire world.”
Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
Grief and sorrow have descended upon our hearts after the horrific mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis. We pray for the victims and their families and send loving care to all the first responders and to our dear friends in Minnesota’s Catholic community.
We are here for you today, and in the months and years ahead, as you navigate the tremendous loss that has touched the Annunciation Church and School community. Our lives are intertwined with yours, and though we attend different congregations and schools, we shop at the same stores and sit next to you on the sidelines of the same soccer fields.
In a world that seeks to divide, we are forever grateful to live in a state that brings people of different faiths together. Minnesota’s Catholic community has shown up time and time again for our Jewish community when we have faced moments of heartbreak and suffering. During this time of crisis, we stand with you, offering our prayers and our support.
As always, we are tremendously grateful to our partners in law enforcement who immediately ran toward gunfire with hopes of saving lives. We are also thankful for the outstanding professionalism of the JCRC’s security team who not only keep our Jewish community safe but stand ready to be of assistance to our Catholic brothers and sisters.
May we all continue to work for a world that is free of senseless violence, ridding evil from our midst. Sacred spaces must remain sacred; sanctuaries remaining as sanctuaries and schools as schools – all free of terror and hate. As we commit to building worlds of peace and love, we sit with you in your grief, your mourning, and your anguish. Let the souls of the innocent rest in peace, and may their memories forever be a blessing.
Beth El Synagogue
We are distraught by the news of a shooting during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School this morning. Our hearts are broken as we stand in grief and solidarity with our Catholic neighbors everywhere. Schools should be havens of peace and safety.
This week’s Torah portion reminds us that it is our obligation to relentlessly pursue justice. We long for a world in which this kind of senseless violence is unthinkable, and where people of all ages and backgrounds can gather to learn and pray without fear.
We pray for a refuah shleimah [a complete healing] for those who were injured and send strength and comfort to all who mourn.
Beth Jacob Congregation
Our community grieves with all of Minnesota in solidarity with the Catholic community after the terrible tragedy at Annunciation Catholic Church and School this morning in Minneapolis.
Members of our own Beth Jacob community have strong connections to Annunciation, including members who grew up at that church and school, and members whose kids played basketball in that gym with the Twin Cities Jewish Middle School.
We want to make you aware of a vigil happening tonight where we can gather, support each other, and show our support for the Catholic community in Minnesota. The vigil will be held at Lynnhurst Park, 1345 W. Minnehaha Parkway in Minneapolis, from 8-9 p.m.
Shir Tikvah will also open their doors at 7:00 for singing and prayers.
We continue to not only pray, but to work for, a world in which sacred spaces remain sacred and children and families can learn and live without fear.
יְהִי־שָׁלוֹם בְּחֵילֵךְ שַׁלְוָה בְּאַרְמְנוֹתָיִךְ
May there be peace within your walls; tranquility within your citadels.
Psalm 122:7
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
There are no words that can capture the horror and tragedy of the unspeakable act of evil at Annunciation Catholic Church. Children have been killed, more are injured, our community is shaken. Right now, our entire city needs to wrap these families in love and support.
The City is setting up a family assistance center to provide them with resources and care.
We are a Minneapolis family. Don’t think about these children just as someone else’s kids. Think of them as your own. This was their first week of school. They should be laughing and goofing off in the hallways right now. They should be learning and playing with their friends.
All of our kids should be able to go to school or church or anywhere without the fear of gun violence. Don’t just say we need thoughts and prayers. These kids were literally in a church praying. Don’t just think of them just as someone else’s kids. Think of them as your own.
Temple Israel
Our hearts are broken by the tragedy that occurred during the all-school morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. We send our deepest prayers of comfort to the students, families, faculty, and parish community who are grieving, and to all who have been impacted by this act of violence.
Schools and places of worship are meant to be sanctuaries of safety, learning, prayer, and joy. To have such a horrific act unfold during a sacred time of worship and community makes this loss even more unimaginable.
We know too well from our own experiences as a Jewish community that an attack on one faith community is an attack on all. Every child deserves to learn in peace. Every family should feel secure when they walk into a school or house of prayer.
At Temple Israel, we stand in solidarity with Annunciation Catholic School. We have reached out to our Catholic colleagues to share our love and support, and we remain committed to working together across lines of faith to build a safer and more compassionate world.
Jewish Community Action
We are devastated by today’s tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and join our Minneapolis community in mourning the two lives lost. Right now, we’re reaching out to our members with ways to come together in mutual care and support. Join us as we grieve, hold space for one another, and tend to the deep pain in our community.
Combating Hate Info: Our coalition offers individualized education and training on community safety, addressing bias incidents and hate crimes.
Adath Jeshurun Congregation
Our Adath community holds in our heart the community, teachers, students, and families of Annunciation Catholic Church and School in South Minneapolis as we feel such pain and brokenness in response to the horrific shooting that occurred earlier today. With efforts to provide comfort and support in response to this tragedy, there are multiple vigils being held throughout the area this evening.
Smith Jewish Academy
We are shocked and deeply saddened by the attack that took place this morning at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in south Minneapolis. Our hearts go out to Annunciation’s students, families, and staff, and to our Smith community members who are connected as friends, neighbors, and colleagues. We will be reaching out to Annunciation to offer support as they navigate this tragedy.
As we so often sing together, oseh shalom bimromav. G-d who makes peace on high, may G-d bring peace to the Annunciation community and to us during this tragic time.
NCJW Minnesota
Today’s heartbreaking tragedy at Annunciation Catholic Church and School shakes us to our core. The violence that took place is unimaginable, and our hearts are with the students, families, educators, and community members who are grieving in its aftermath.
Annunciation is not just a school; it is part of our shared community. These are our neighbors, our friends, and our loved ones.
We are all impacted by this tragedy, and we stand together in mourning and solidarity. As we hold the Annunciation community in our thoughts, NCJW Minnesota remains committed to the work of building a safer world for all children and families.
Shir Tikvah
As a community, we express our care and support for our neighbors, the students, staff and families of Annunciation Catholic School. We pray for support for the families that are grieving, refuah shleimah (full recovery and healing) for all those physically and emotionally impacted by today’s act of tragic violence, and rise ready, with an abundance of care and commitment, to show up for our neighbors.
These are things our community believes: that protecting sanctuary space is our sacred responsibility, that gathering together to learn is one of the bedrock gifts of being alive, that our obligation as human beings is to ואהבת לרעך כמוך – to love our neighbors and take care of them the way we would hope to be loved and cared for. The horrifying violence at Annunciation Catholic School is a blow to these core values. As a community, we get to show up with love, sorrow and chutzpah (righteous audacity) to comfort mourners, ground those that are shaking, and find our way through, together.
We know well from our own experiences as a Jewish community that there is great comfort and strength to be found in the ways that neighbors and other communities of faith show up in support. In these next days, we hope you both receive care in community and show up in solidarity. May community be a source of comfort and strength to you in this time of shake and sadness.
Shir Tikvah rabbis have reached out to Catholic colleagues to share our love and support. We are committed to working across faith lines to strengthen bonds of sacred solidarity.
May the students, families, staff, and parish community of Annunciation Catholic School be comforted. Please reach out if you are in need of pastoral support at this moment.
Mayim Rabim
It is hard to assimilate the news of today’s senseless violence at Annunciation Catholic Church and School, so close to us in our South Minneapolis neighborhood. We mourn for the innocent victims and pray for a full recovery for those injured. At tragic times like this, being in community can help us with the pain. No one who comes to a place of worship or goes to school should be met with violence. Let us continue to work for the day when safety is guaranteed for all.
Minnesota DFL Jewish Community Outreach Organization
Schools and places of worship hold some of the most important moments of our lives. They are where our children discover the world where family share joy and sorrow, and where communities find belonging and hope. They carry our dreams, our questions, and our prayers. To watch them desecrated by violence is beyond devastating.
As Jews, we are taught that every single life is of infinite worth, and that we have a sacred duty to pursue tikkun olam (to repair the brokenness of our world). In this moment of devastating grief, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Catholic neighbors, with the Minneapolis community, and with all people of faith and conscience who believe that schools and places of worship must remain havens of safety, dignity, and love.
We cannot allow this to become normal. We recommit ourselves to building a world where no child walks into a classroom in fear, and no parent lies awake at night wondering if their place of worship will still be a sanctuary tomorrow. Honoring the memories of the victims at Annunciation requires more than words and more than prayer, it demands action.
We join our voices with all those who call for urgent, common-sense gun safety regulation so that children, families, and communities can be spared from further devastation. Only through courage and determination will peace, justice, and compassion and triumph over hatred and violence.
Mount Zion Temple
Once again, our communities mourn the tragic deaths of two children at the hands of a school shooter, this time at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. And we pray for healing for the 17 other injured. As the larger community has comforted us when synagogues were targeted, we stand with our Catholic neighbors in this terrible time.
Your clergy, as always, is here to support you, as is our Religious School Director Alisha Sawyer, and our Director of Youth and Young Adult Engagement, Abby Farber, if you or your children need support in this terrible time.
Our prayers are with the Annunciation Church and School community.
