Attack Aftermath
Crews clean up scorch marks, blood, glass, and debris on the sidewalk after a man set people on fire during a demonstration at Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colorado, on June 2, 2025. At least 12 people were injured June 1 when a man set people on fire during a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, which was staged to raise awareness about hostages being held in Gaza. A suspect named Mohammed Sabry Soliman was arrested and federally charged. The F.B.I. says the man told investigators that he had been planning the attack for a year and that he wants to ''kill all Zionist people and wishes they were all dead.'' Police say he brought more than a dozen incendiary devices to the event and disguised himself as a gardener to get as close as possible to the marchers. Soliman, 45, entered the U.S. from Egypt in 2022 and staysed illegally after his visa expired in 2023. He told a detective that he used Molotov cocktails in the attack because he had not been able to buy a gun. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP)
Grace and peace to you. I write today concerning the attack on those marching yesterday in Boulder calling for the release of and in solidarity with hostages of Hamas in Israel. At least eight persons were injured, some severely.
A direct and focused attack such as this both shocks and shatters a sense of peace among us. Freedom of speech is a cherished right in the United States of America, and no one should fear retribution or bodily harm for exercising this right. We grieve over the harm to those injured, and pray for their healing in body and spirit.
Understandably, members of the Jewish community in Boulder and across the state of Colorado are feeling on edge today and we hold them in prayer as we decry this act of violence.
The October 7th attacks that took place in Israel, perpetrated by Hamas, were acts of violence as well and should not be seen as justifiable for any reason. The taking and holding of hostages is violence, and we pray for the release of the hostages, their return and healing, and healing for the families, longing to see loved ones again.
Within days of the October 7, 2023, attacks, I was among those calling for ceasefire as the Israeli government responded with extreme force, particularly in Gaza. The United Methodist Council of Bishops reiterated that call for a sustained ceasefire with the release of this latest statement.
Bishop Stoneking
The Rev. Kristin Stoneking speaks after being elected bishop of the United Methodist Church’s Western Jurisdiction on July 12, 2024, in Spokane, Washington. (Video screen grab)
Ceasefire, at a minimum, creates a space to begin the long and arduous work towards real, lasting, and just peace. At the same time, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and other parts of Palestine demands not just our attention and response, but also our repentance as a human community living on earth during this time when assaults on human dignity and well-being persist.
The situation and history in Palestine and Israel are complex, but as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has said, “Violence begets violence.” Historical and unresolved trauma can sow seeds of violence for generations to come. As the Islamic Networks Group, which promotes interfaith understanding, stated after the attacks, “Holding Jewish Americans collectively responsible for the actions of a foreign state is both morally wrong and deeply dangerous. Such thinking echoes the very logic of bigotry and collective blame that has harmed countless innocent people throughout history, including Muslims.”
As Christians we are called to be peacemakers and arrest this cycle of violence.
The work of peace is not passive. In peacemaking, there is an active commitment to reject violence in all of its forms and to create constructive solutions. There is a willingness to speak painful and even risky truth. There is a recognition that healing often requires humility and creativity.
Though active resistance to injustice is a part of peacemaking, much more of peacemaking work is about building up structures of well-being, creating relationships, seeking understanding, and growing in compassion. Gandhi himself put the percentage of active resistance at 5% with constructive programs at 95% in any pursuit of justice and lasting peace.
This is the work of the church empowered by the Holy Spirit.
From the United Methodist Book of Discipline, “The outreach of the church springs from the working of the Spirit. As United Methodists, we respond to that working through a connectional polity based upon mutual responsiveness and accountability. Connectional ties bind us together in faith and service in our global witness, enabling faith to become active in love and intensifying our desire for peace and justice in the world.” Though the connection referred to here intends specifically the United Methodist connection, it does not preclude the honoring of connectional humanity as well.
As we approach the day of Pentecost and receive again the gift of the Holy Spirit, and as we lament the tragedy in Boulder and the destruction engendered by violence in the Holy Land over the last century, may we be infused with new commitment to work for peace.
May God’s grace and peace go before us and surround all people always.
Bishop Kristin Stoneking