Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
GUNNING FOR VIOLENCE
Students walk streets of West Chester to mark Gun Violence Day
More than 100 Chester County residents walked from the United Methodist Church in West Cheater across town to Calvary Lutheran Church for Chester County Gun Violence Day.
WEST CHESTER » More than 100 Chester County residents recently walked from the United Methodist Church in West Chester across town to Calvary Lutheran Church, wearing straw hats and baseball caps, sunglasses, bottles of water in hand, to honor those whose lives have been lost to gun violence. At Calvary Lutheran, crowding under the shade of nearby trees, they viewed the 51 Tshirts that stood in silent testimony to the lives lost as a result of gun murders.
The Chester County Gun Violence Awareness Day event on Oct. 7 was an inter-faith rally of residents who support stronger gun regulations. The gathering was co-sponsored by the Religious Council of Greater West Chester and Heeding God’s Call. During the hourlong meeting at the Methodist Church that preceded the walk, representatives of various area church and faith groups, as well as Chester County Gun Sense Director Ann Cummings, spoke passionately about the gun violence that has taken 51 Chester County lives in the past 10 years. There was music, and prayers offered by local ministers.
At Calvary Lutheran Church, where the Tshirts were on display, additional prayers and words were shared. The mother of recently murdered Bianca Roberson offered a few memories of her daughter, concluding her remarks, saying “there’s no one to call me Mom anymore.”
The Rev. Daniel Krewson, pastor at Calvary, rang a large bell 10 times to signify the past ten years of murders in the county. Additional prayers were offered before the crowd wandered among the Tshirts, quietly commenting on how many of the victims were children and young adults.