Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, has issued a pastoral word on the verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minnesota police officer charged with the killing of George Floyd. “[The trial] has riveted our national attention these past weeks, and now a verdict has been reached,” the statement read, in part. “Together with people around the world, we have anticipated the jury’s decision with troubled hearts. As members of the community of Jesus, we affirm that ‘if one member suffers, all suffer together with it’ (1 Corinthians 12:26, NRSV).”
“No jury verdict can erase the pain of the Floyd family, and we share our condolences and pray for ongoing comfort in their suffering and for all whose lives have been touched by this tragedy,” the statement continued. “As people of the cross, we believe in the hope of the resurrection. Yet we cannot rush to Easter Sunday without reflecting on the oppression of Good Friday.
“The murder of George Floyd is one of the many examples of the ongoing abuse of police authority. The extrajudicial killings of Brown and Black bodies must stop.”
