A shared statement of support and solidarity for the Jewish community has been signed by a number of Boulder County clergy, including our own Rev. Barbara Coeyman. As stated by its drafters, Rev. David Schwartz of UUCB and Rev. Nicole Lamarche, Community United Church of Christ, the goal is to express support for and make a commitment to renewed relationship with our Jewish friends and neighbors. The letter, copied below, was penned in consultation with Rabbi Fred Greene of Har HaShem of Boulder.
An Open Letter from Boulder-Area Clergy after the Pearl Street Mall Attack on the Jewish Community
July 9, 2025
We are clergy serving in Boulder, Colorado across different traditions and denominations. We use different words to address the Divine. We have different theologies and different points of view. But bridging every difference, we insist on the sacred worth in every person, and unambiguously state that hateful, violent acts do not bring justice.
We feel moved to name the antisemitism inherent in the attack on June 1st that has now resulted in the death of a beloved member of our community. The attacker targeted the victims because of their identity — he did not know them, he did not know their politics, he only knew that they were gathering publicly to raise awareness of hostages still held. The impact on the Jewish community was tragic and profound.
We affirm that there is no cause or political goal that justifies attacking people engaged in peaceful witness. There is no justice that can emerge from such deliberate harm. We hold in tender care all who are hurting: those directly injured, those who witnessed trauma, those carrying the weight of yet another attack on our neighbors. We are praying for all who are hurting and in need of healing. We seek comfort for all living in fear.
We affirm that it is our shared responsibility to help love defeat dehumanizing violence in this world in all of the ways that we can. Our traditions teach that love and justice will win – must win – over fear and hate. We commit to speak out against antisemitism and act peacefully for the rights, freedoms, and safety of all of Jews. We commit to inspire those in the congregations we serve to join with us in this endeavor.
Between and within the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities there are deeply divergent feelings and profound differences of belief about the complex issues in the Holy Land. But we will not let the intensity of belief or difference of opinion justify antisemitism, just as we will not let it justify anti-Muslim hate. We commit to renewed relationship with our Jewish friends and neighbors: to check in, to listen deeply and empathically, to ask what they feel and what they need.
The attack on Pearl Street Mall was shocking in its horror, brutality, and nearness. And we join in grief and bewilderment at every attack on innocents – here at home, in Gaza, in Israel, and around the world – and an ever-deeper resolve to find peace and safety for all.
With compassion for the victims, in solidarity with the Boulder Jewish community, and with a common resolve that love wins over fear and hate,
Rev. Nicole Lamarche, Community United Church of Christ, Boulder
Rev. David Schwartz, Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder
Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman, Interim Minister, Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
The Rev. Mary Kate Rejouis, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church
Rev. Linda Kowatch, First Congregational Church UCC Boulder
Rev. Christina Braudaway-Bauman, First Congregational Church UCC, Boulder
The Rev. Amanda Barker, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Boulder
Rev. Dr. Pamela JS Challis, Trinity Lutheran Church, Boulder
Rev. Melissa Adzima, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Longmont
Rev. Randy Spaulding, Boulder Mennonite Church
Letter from the President and Interim Minister of BVUUF
June 2, 2025
Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Lafayette condemns the horrific attack in Boulder on the “Run for Their Lives” demonstrators. These marchers were peacefully expressing their humanitarian concern for Israeli hostages, as they have done in regular vigils since the events of October 7, 2023.
Unitarian Universalists promote freedom of expression, while also strongly opposing violence as a response to difference of viewpoint. We believe that, while disagreements are inevitable, violence is never a solution.
Even as we may react with shock and anger to this latest attack on individuals because of their religious identity and affiliations, we also hold out the hope that violence everywhere may cease as we remember the many people of good will who are striving for peace.
The congregation and staff at BVUUF hold in our hearts and prayers the eight individuals injured in the attack in Boulder. We also embrace the many others in the vicinity touched by this latest trauma, the wider network of northern Colorado communities, everyone who believes in peaceful freedom of expression, and all people who are oppressed by hate and violence.
We hope for a speedy recovery for all touched by these traumatic events.
Robyn Rathweg, President, BVUUF Board of Trustees
Rev. Dr. Barbara Coeyman, Interim Minister
on behalf of the congregation
