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Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church (San Diego, Ca.) letter (019)
Letter from a member of the Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church in San Diego, California. The letter is dated 11/4/2018 and reads: "June [last name redacted] My sincere heartfelt condolences to my Jewish family. This is a really heartfelt and sad time for me as Jews from Philadelphia sponsored me into this beautiful country allowing me to become a permanent resident. I lived with them for 18 months and raised their daughters as her nanny house keeper. In time after that I was able to join the United States Navy for 20 years as a medical person[?] and then become a proud US citizen. To all my mas[?] and [?] of the Jewish family, so sorry you have to have such a terrible massacre remind you all about this injustice during World War II. Just know that I stand in solidarity with you and all Jews. Shalom, June [last name redacted] San Diego."
Historical Notes
In the days after the October 27 attack, people began leaving objects at two locations outside the Tree of Life synagogue--one at the corner of Wilkins and Shady avenues in front of the Zittrain Gardens, and the other on a private lawn at Wilkins and Murray avenues, just beyond police barricades. Community volunteers moved the entirety of these two memorials inside the Tree of Life building on November 14, 2018, for preservation purposes. Most of these objects including this one were moved to archival preservation over the following year, but a small number were arranged in public display in the windows of the Hailperin Sanctuary lobby. Rauh Jewish Archives staff and volunteers dismantled this display on February 16, 2023, and the objects were brought to the archive for preservation. Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church is an intergenerational church located in San Diego, California. Reverend Karla Shaw, who had lived in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s, had planned to spend a week in Pittsburgh in November 2018. After Rev. Shaw heard the news about the October 27 attack, she and her community organized a letter writing campaign and created a prayer quilt. Rev. Shaw brought these letters and quilt with her to Pittsburgh, which she left at the Wilkins memorial.
Use and Reproduction
Donor Information
Donor
Tree of Life Congregation, New Light Congregation, Congregation Dor Hadash, Tree of Life Inc., The 10.27 Healing Partnership
