WE would like to thank many in the greater Charleston community who have reached out to our Unitarian Universalist Congregation in recent days. Two seemingly unrelated events - one in Charleston, the other in Knoxville, Tenn. - have led to phone calls, e-mails and personal conversations about violence, hate crimes and how a community should respond. We hope we have been clear that what happened here and in Tennessee were not part of an organized attack on the UU faith, and there was no connection between the two events.

On July 22 we received an early morning call from our custodian that someone had fired a bullet into the church, and that someone had run out of the building and driven away. On our way to the church, we tried to keep our worst fears at bay, but couldn't help wondering: Is someone sending us a message of disapproval? Has the unknown person who stole our rainbow flags, which symbolize our welcome of all people regardless of sexual orientation, escalated to violence? (A number of UU congregations around the country have had negative responses to their displays of inclusion.) Could someone possibly not like our banner proclaiming "torture is wrong"? Thank goodness, the shooting happened before Creative Capers, our summer day camp, was in session. What if no kids come because their parents will think our space is not safe?

These are not paranoid fantasies. We are well aware of the long history of Unitarians and Universalists and occasional acts of violence toward us and other non-orthodox religions.

We felt apprehensive on the short drive down Kanawha Boulevard. We pulled into the parking lot to see our very upset next-door neighbor talking to police and quickly learned that our worst thoughts were just that - thoughts, not reality. The neighbor explained that following a disagreement with her son, he had taken a rifle out of their house and shot it in anger. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The person seen driving quickly away was a member of the congregation dropping off supplies for an evening program.

We actually feel safer now. There is no gun next door. Our window is being fixed, the damaged chair and table replaced. We remember the son at a much younger, sweeter age being excited about his new puppy, and we hope he scared himself into rethinking his behavior. We pray the mother and son can "fix" their relationship. We have a full house for Creative Capers camp this week. Everyone seems to understand that our building just happened to be in the way of a domestic incident.

Unfortunately, on July 27 in Knoxville, worst fears turned into reality when a gunman who wrote that he hates liberals opened fire during morning worship at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUU). The perpetrator killed two, sent five to hospitals and scared the 200 worshippers, including children who were putting on a musical presentation.

We grieve for that community. In our newest hymnal is "Standing on the Side of Love," a way for us to sing - and remind us to live - our theology. We would like to lift up TVUU member Greg McKendry who chose to shield members of the TVUU congregation by placing himself in the line of fire. In the sanctuary where he came to celebrate life, he gave his life. In the midst of grief, we applaud McKendry and those who tackled and held the perpetrator until police arrived.

Among the many expressions of concern various members of the Charleston community have shared with us over the Knoxville situation, a friend remarked that he had never heard that someone from a mainline denomination or liberal religious faith had shot into a fundamentalist worship service just because it was a gathering of "conservatives." For us UUs, such an act simply doesn't fit with standing on the side of love.

Violence in a religious setting is especially distressing. First, it's the violation of a sanctuary, a place that should be revered as a haven, a safe space for all. Another concern is that the right to religious freedom, one of the founding principles of our country, is violated.  We all like to think that because the United States was founded on religious freedom that religiously based acts of violence could not happen in this country. We like to think that such violence surely could not happen in West Virginia where our state motto is Montani semper liberi: "Mountaineers are always free." May we all be free to practice our religion in peace and to believe what we choose, free from the dictates of government, free from fear, free to follow what our consciences dictate.

We have heard criticism from the right that Unitarian Universalists think a right-wing conspiracy against liberal religion was behind the TVUU attack. We do not believe it was attacked because of a conspiracy. What we believe is that hate talk, especially from right-wing radio commentators and talk shows, contributes to a climate where some people think violence is okay.  We are concerned that respectful disagreement and having worthy opponents is fading because dialogue has turned into screaming matches and name-calling that feed into a climate of hate and violence.

We want to be among those who reduce the climate of violence and eliminate hate. We want to contribute to a more tolerant, more respectful, more loving world - not a more hateful one. We are thankful that on Tuesday at 6 p.m. a community forum is scheduled to develop strategies for combating hate and intolerance in the Charleston community. It is at the Marriott Town Center, 200 Lee Street. We will be there. We have invited members of UUC to be there. We do not want a repeat of the Knoxville UU experience in our town, or any other town. Please join us.

Hoover and Edington, husband and wife, are co-ministers of the Charleston Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

WE would like to thank many in the greater Charleston community who have reached out to our Unitarian Universalist Congregation in recent days. Two seemingly unrelated events - one in Charleston, the other in Knoxville, Tenn. - have led to phone calls, e-mails and personal conversations about violence, hate crimes and how a community should respond. We hope we have been clear that what happened here and in Tennessee were not part of an organized attack on the UU faith, and there was no connection between the two events.

On July 22 we received an early morning call from our custodian that someone had fired a bullet into the church, and that someone had run out of the building and driven away. On our way to the church, we tried to keep our worst fears at bay, but couldn't help wondering: Is someone sending us a message of disapproval? Has the unknown person who stole our rainbow flags, which symbolize our welcome of all people regardless of sexual orientation, escalated to violence? (A number of UU congregations around the country have had negative responses to their displays of inclusion.) Could someone possibly not like our banner proclaiming "torture is wrong"? Thank goodness, the shooting happened before Creative Capers, our summer day camp, was in session. What if no kids come because their parents will think our space is not safe?

These are not paranoid fantasies. We are well aware of the long history of Unitarians and Universalists and occasional acts of violence toward us and other non-orthodox religions.

We felt apprehensive on the short drive down Kanawha Boulevard. We pulled into the parking lot to see our very upset next-door neighbor talking to police and quickly learned that our worst thoughts were just that - thoughts, not reality. The neighbor explained that following a disagreement with her son, he had taken a rifle out of their house and shot it in anger. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The person seen driving quickly away was a member of the congregation dropping off supplies for an evening program.

We actually feel safer now. There is no gun next door. Our window is being fixed, the damaged chair and table replaced. We remember the son at a much younger, sweeter age being excited about his new puppy, and we hope he scared himself into rethinking his behavior. We pray the mother and son can "fix" their relationship. We have a full house for Creative Capers camp this week. Everyone seems to understand that our building just happened to be in the way of a domestic incident.

Unfortunately, on July 27 in Knoxville, worst fears turned into reality when a gunman who wrote that he hates liberals opened fire during morning worship at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUU). The perpetrator killed two, sent five to hospitals and scared the 200 worshippers, including children who were putting on a musical presentation.

We grieve for that community. In our newest hymnal is "Standing on the Side of Love," a way for us to sing - and remind us to live - our theology. We would like to lift up TVUU member Greg McKendry who chose to shield members of the TVUU congregation by placing himself in the line of fire. In the sanctuary where he came to celebrate life, he gave his life. In the midst of grief, we applaud McKendry and those who tackled and held the perpetrator until police arrived.

Among the many expressions of concern various members of the Charleston community have shared with us over the Knoxville situation, a friend remarked that he had never heard that someone from a mainline denomination or liberal religious faith had shot into a fundamentalist worship service just because it was a gathering of "conservatives." For us UUs, such an act simply doesn't fit with standing on the side of love.

Violence in a religious setting is especially distressing. First, it's the violation of a sanctuary, a place that should be revered as a haven, a safe space for all. Another concern is that the right to religious freedom, one of the founding principles of our country, is violated.  We all like to think that because the United States was founded on religious freedom that religiously based acts of violence could not happen in this country. We like to think that such violence surely could not happen in West Virginia where our state motto is Montani semper liberi: "Mountaineers are always free." May we all be free to practice our religion in peace and to believe what we choose, free from the dictates of government, free from fear, free to follow what our consciences dictate.

We have heard criticism from the right that Unitarian Universalists think a right-wing conspiracy against liberal religion was behind the TVUU attack. We do not believe it was attacked because of a conspiracy. What we believe is that hate talk, especially from right-wing radio commentators and talk shows, contributes to a climate where some people think violence is okay.  We are concerned that respectful disagreement and having worthy opponents is fading because dialogue has turned into screaming matches and name-calling that feed into a climate of hate and violence.

We want to be among those who reduce the climate of violence and eliminate hate. We want to contribute to a more tolerant, more respectful, more loving world - not a more hateful one. We are thankful that on Tuesday at 6 p.m. a community forum is scheduled to develop strategies for combating hate and intolerance in the Charleston community. It is at the Marriott Town Center, 200 Lee Street. We will be there. We have invited members of UUC to be there. We do not want a repeat of the Knoxville UU experience in our town, or any other town. Please join us.

Hoover and Edington, husband and wife, are co-ministers of the Charleston Unitarian Universalist Congregation.