In 2013 it was called a “simple but compelling demonstration of the scope of the carnage wrought by gun violence.” At sites throughout Philadelphia, a total of 288 T-shirts were put on public display as a powerful reminder – each one representing a life lost to gun violence that year. On Sunday December 13 at 3 PM, Memorials to the Lost will again be enacted at Newark’s Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral as T-shirts gathered from throughout the diocese are displayed on the Cathedral fence. A service of readings, prayers, and sacred music will also be part of the commemoration, planned to coincide with the national Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend.
The originators of Memorials to the Lost, a group called Heeding God’s Call, has chapters in Washington, D.C., Harrisburg and other cities where Memorials to the Lost has also been staged, galvanizing public awareness of the desperately needed changes in our laws – particularly those involving gun sales and background checks.
Bishop Mark Beckwith focused on the issue in his August 5 blog post, which also proposed the idea of having a Memorials to the Lost event here in the Diocese of Newark. “We in America do not live in a despotic or totalitarian regime, although some families of shooting victims may think otherwise,” he wrote. “But we can do more than process the pain through blogs or prayers or liturgies inside buildings. We can process the pain outside.”
Enthusiasm for the project was generated the following month when clergy and lay leaders attended an information meeting on September 8 led by Bryan Miller, Executive Director of Heeding God’s Call. Miller is also expected to attend the December event at the Cathedral.
Serving as coordinators of the December 13 event are the Cathedral’s Director of Arts Ministries, Dr. Deborah Simpkin King and the Rev. Willie Smith, Rector of Trinity Church, Cliffside Park.
“Although the Cathedral’s inner-city location certainly contributes to defining its social mission,” said King, “in embracing the Memorial to the Lost movement, we join a nation-wide initiative aimed at increasing public awareness of the tragic toll exacted by gun violence."
It has been a decade since the life of Smith's Cliffside Park congregation was touched by gun-related tragedy; the victim was the relative a Trinity member. “Even if not directly, gun violence touches us all, not just inner city folks,” he said.
According to Smith, while the service will follow the basic format of an Advent Lessons and Carols service, music and lessons will be tailored to the issue at hand. He said it is hoped the service will be deeply moving with readings from both Scripture, particularly the Book of Isaiah and from prominent writers on non-violence such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Choirs and musicians from throughout the diocese are also expected to participate in the service, said King, whose specialty is choral music. “The Cathedral is delighted to invite everyone to be part of this significant event. We are so pleased to have the assistance of Mark Trautman, Director of Music at St. Paul’s, Englewood, in reaching out to our colleagues throughout the Diocese and even beyond. The St. Paul’s Choir School will be singing, and we are actively inviting both youth and adult voices.”
The December 13 Cathedral service and the Memorials to the Lost both coincide with the 2015 national Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend taking place December 10-14, itself scheduled to coincide with the third anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT. Nearly 1000 places of worship in 46 states and the District of Columbia participated in the 2014 Sabbath. Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence, a coalition of more than 50 national denominations and faith-based organizations, sponsors the event. The kickoff on Thursday, December 10 will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. and for the next three days participating congregations across the country will hold prayer services, vigils, and Memorials to the Lost in an effort to educate the public about proven methods to reduce gun violence.
As of this writing, the Gun Violence Archive lists the national total number of incidents involving guns this year as a staggering 42,152, the number of deaths as 10,634, and the number of mass shootings as 274. The number of teen and children killed or injured total 2695.
Closer to home, New Jersey’s Study Commission on Violence released its report on October 13, noting that roughly 80 percent of all violent crime occurs in 21 of the state’s urban centers, with Newark, Trenton, Camden, and Jersey City among the top 10 areas for shootings and levels of gang presence. “Violence does not occur in a vacuum;” the report stated, “rather it thrives in poor and disadvantaged communities where educational and economic opportunities are limited.…”
Featured prominently in the December 13 service will be readings from the prophet Isaiah. Writing after the Jewish people’s return from exile and centuries before the time of Jesus, the prophet eloquently expressed the hope of everyone connected with this event: “Violence shall no more be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”
