OCEAN COUNTY – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced a new campaign for 2019 that preaches love, tolerance, and kindness. The “Love Thy Neighbor: There is No Room for Hate in Ocean County” campaign will kick off the weekend of May 31 through June 2.
As part of the campaign, Prosecutor Billhimer has requested that all religious ceremonies in houses of worship throughout Ocean County address issues related to tolerance and kindness with a recognition that understanding is more important than divisiveness.
“My office and the other twenty county prosecutor’s offices in New Jersey share a responsibility to detect, investigate, indict and convict those who violate the laws of our State,” said Prosecutor Billhimer, “I take great pride in this mission. I also believe that it is my duty to exemplify leadership beyond the realm of police work and the courtroom. As our county struggles with divisions based on race, ethnicity, religion and political views, it is incumbent on myself and all community leaders to embrace diversity. It is important to send a clear message across the respective communities that make up our great county that kindness and tolerance is preferred over vitriol and hate speech,” Prosecutor Billhimer said.
“Love Thy Neighbor” was born out of the cooperation of numerous faith based and community leaders in partnership with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. The mission is to counteract the rising hate and bias that society is struggling with by promoting understanding and reconciliation.
Love Thy Neighbor USA, a national organization, can be found online at LoveThyNeighborUSA.com and Facebook.
For more information on Ocean County’s program, or to learn how you or your organization can participate in this year’s program, contact Mike Colwell, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, at Mcolwell@co.ocean.nj.us, Bryan Huntenburg, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, at BHuntenburg@co.ocean.nj.us, Scott Gartner, at scott@lovethyneighborusa.com or Colin Lewis at colin@lovethyneighborusa.com.
