Pittsburg, PA
Visiting the site of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
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I noticed the colorful drawings first.
They were printed onto pieces of canvas that hung on a long fence. They carried messages like “Rebuild together” and “Be happy,” alongside drawings of rainbows, flowers and trees.
These were the images that welcomed me and others at Religion News Association’s annual conference to the site of the deadliest act of antisemitism in U.S. history.
On Oct. 27, 2018, a man entered a building used by three different Jewish communities and opened fire, killing 11 people and injuring others.
The juxtaposition between cheerful drawings and horrific memories is intentional. Those who oversee the site of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting told us the images serve as reminders of the good and kind acts that came in response to the shooter’s acts of death and destruction. They were sent in by schoolchildren who wanted to do what they could to help.
Throughout the morning we spent with people affected by the shooting, the same message came up again and again: You must remember the good, as well as the bad.
You must celebrate the kindness and compassion in the world, even as you call out the evil.
You can’t forget how those 11 men and women died, but you also can’t forget how they lived.
Today, the site of the 2018 shooting is being transformed into a unique kind of community center. It will host worship services, as well as lectures on antisemitism and the beauty of Jewish life.
It will serve as a reminder of what’s possible when we pull together instead of pulling apart.
And until construction is complete, those drawings will hang from the fence outside, calling us to remember not just what happened on Oct. 27, 2018, but also what happened next.
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Term of the week: Matzo
Matzo is thin, unleavened bread that plays a special role in Jews’ Passover festivities. Made of just flour and water, it’s baked before it rises, which means it looks more like a cracker than a loaf.
“To be kosher for the Passover holiday, which begins Monday evening, the dough has to be prepared and cooked all within 18 minutes,” according to The Associated Press.
By eating matzo, the modern Jewish community commemorates the experience of Jews who fled Egypt during the Exodus story. Those men, women and children were in such a rush that they couldn’t bake normal bread.
The Jewish speaker on a panel about religion and food at last weekend’s conference described how special matzo is to him despite being essentially tasteless. It symbolizes God’s care for the community, he said.
What I’m reading…
Becoming a parent means reckoning with everything you won’t be able to protect your children from. But in the midst of the unexpected heartbreaks and anxiety, you can choose to create moments of immense joy. “Parents cannot shield their children from the world’s cruelty or our failures, but we can try to counter those things. We can provide moments that may become positive recollections to sit alongside harsher ones,” writes Esau McCaulley for The New York Times.
This fall, Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit is going to get serious about limiting screen time. First-year students, who are on the path to becoming priests, will be asked to be more intentional about their relationship with technology and to spend more time socializing with others and in prayer than buried in their phones, according to Catholic News Agency.
My colleague Jennifer Graham wrote a beautiful profile of writer Nancy French earlier this month. The story explores French’s new memoir, her battle with cancer and her place in the unfolding story of evangelical Christianity.
Odds and ends
I was honored to bring home a second-place award from the RNA conference that recognized my efforts to analyze and explain faith-related Supreme Court cases and policy moves. Here are the three stories that were part of my winning entry:
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With America celebrating its 250th birthday this summer, a major landmark in Pittsburgh will celebrate its 100th birthday.
Allegheny County announced a 100th Birthday Bash for the Andy Warhol Bridge on Saturday, June 27, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato made the event official on Friday morning and said it will feature art, music, games, and more.
“Allegheny County’s history is filled with innovation and creativity, beautiful architecture, and talented homegrown artists, and the Andy Warhol Bridge encapsulates all of that in one iconic structure,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “I hope everyone will come down for a fun day of art, community, and a shared celebration of our history on June 27.”
Part of the celebration will be art projects hosted and led by the Andy Warhol Museum and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Local artist Strawberry Luna will also create a special, commemorative poster celebrating the bridge’s history.
The Andy Warhol Bridge is the only bridge in the country to be named for a visual artist, according to Allegheny County.
“As our nation commemorates the U.S. Semiquincentennial, it is fitting that we recognize the oldest of the three Sister Bridges, which represent Pittsburgh’s tradition of innovation, ingenuity, and ‘we can do it’ spirit,” said Andy Masich, president and CEO of the Senator John Heinz History Center. “These iconic bridges, painted in ‘Aztec Gold’ as an homage to the city’s official colors, are symbols of Pittsburgh’s vibrancy, culture, and most importantly, its people.”
Formerly known as the Seventh Street Bridge, it was renamed the Andy Warhol Bridge in 2005 to honor the famous artist as well as the 10th anniversary of the Andy Warhol Museum, which is two blocks away.
A man was critically injured after being assaulted by a group of people in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood on Thursday evening, authorities said.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said officers were called to South St. Clair and Eva streets around 5 p.m. for reports of a man who was assaulted by a group of people. The assault happened next to a Whole Foods store.
At the scene, which bordered a park with a playground, first responders found a man who was unconscious and not breathing. Officers and medics performed CPR on the man until he was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. The exact nature of his injuries was not released.
Pittsburgh Public Safety said “several males of unknown age” were detained and transported to police headquarters for questioning. It was not immediately known if any of them would be charged.
A KDKA-TV crew observed a second police scene nearby on Centre Avenue next to The Fresh Market, which was previously a Whole Foods. At that scene, KDKA-TV observed what appeared to be at least one teenager being taken into a police car. A witness told KDKA-TV they saw police questioning nearly 10 people, ranging from grade schoolers to teenagers.
Pittsburgh Public Safety did not say what led up to the assault.
“Those kids, whoever they were, need to be reprimanded for that, because that was horrible, horrible,” said Asia Wilter, who was nearby on Thursday evening.
Over the weekend, another man was assaulted outside a 7-Eleven store on Penn Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. Police say the assault started inside the 7-Eleven after the victim mentioned to an employee that he believed a group of teenage males was shoplifting.
Pittsburgh police say the victim scraped his elbow and had a small abrasion on his face. He refused to be transported to the hospital, but police say he went on his own to get checked out. Police are searching for the teens.
Earlier this month, six teenage girls were charged after authorities said they chased a woman into a Sephora store in East Liberty and beat her. Sephora’s loss prevention officer estimated the teens caused approximately $30,000 in damage.
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