Dear OSC Church Members and Friends,
Like so many in our county, we are grieving after the horrific shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
As a church community, we want to say clearly that we stand with our Muslim neighbors in sorrow, solidarity, and love. We condemn Islamophobia, hatred, and political violence in all forms. An attack on a house of worship is an attack on the dignity and safety of every faith community.
As the pastor who oversees our Children’s Program, I believe the widespread normalization of guns in American life has caused deep harm to children, families, schools, and neighborhoods.
The prophet Isaiah imagined a different kind of world when he wrote that people would “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” We hold onto that vision still, a world where tools of harm are transformed into tools that nourish life, where communities invest more in healing than in violence, and where children are raised to trust in love and justice rather than fear and force.
This tragedy also reminds us that young people are still developing emotionally, socially, and neurologically. Teenagers often experience intense confusion, impulsivity, loneliness, anger, and fear as they grow and mature. In moments of crisis or instability, access to firearms can turn temporary emotions, reckless decisions, or hateful influences into irreversible violence. Young people need guidance, community, mental health support, belonging, accountability, and safe adults around them. They do not need easy access to deadly weapons.
We encourage our congregation to take practical steps toward safety and peace:
Remove guns from homes whenever possible.
If firearms are present, keep them unloaded, locked in a gun safe, and inaccessible to all children and teens at all times.
Ask other parents, grandparents, and friends whether firearms are present in their homes before allowing visits or sleepovers; do not allow your children to visit homes where firearms are present without assurance they are securely inaccessible.
Talk openly with children and teens about violence, fear, anger, prejudice, loneliness, and emotional health.
Teach conflict resolution, emotional regulation, empathy, and nonviolent communication.
Speak clearly against racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and hatred in all forms.
Pay attention to signs of depression, isolation, hopelessness, or radicalization, and seek support early.
Use discernment when allowing kids and teens to have access to violent content in social media, movies, video games, and music and always talk about the content after the fact if they are exposed.
Understand California’s Red Flag law and reach out to law enforcement when you are fearful someone has access to a firearm and is a danger to themselves or others.
Advocate for safer schools, stronger community care, mental health resources, and gun laws that prioritize human life.
Model the example of Christ, where strength is found in compassion, courage, accountability, and community, not in weapons.
Our faith calls us to protect the vulnerable, care for our neighbors, and work toward a world where we can gather freely and safely without fear. We refuse to accept gun violence and religious hatred as normal. We believe another way is possible.
With grief, hope, and solidarity,
Rev. Jenell Coker