Interfaith alliance kicks off vigils for victims of gun violence
Temple Beth Shalom holds first of planned monthly vigils; other faiths set to host event
Rose petals were dropped onto a white cloth after the name of each victim of the mass shootings last month in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso was read aloud Tuesday.
Until there are no new names, the rose petals will keep falling at monthly vigils in Santa Fe in remembrance of lives cut short by gun violence, organizers said.
‘This is a ritual that’s developing to meet the emotional needs of people living in a violent society,” said Rabbi Neil Amswych of Temple Beth Shalom, which hosted the interfaith vigil, an event that drew
about 15 community members. They gathered in a meditation space outside the temple, forming a circle around the white cloth, which would become mostly covered in petals as the 31 victims’ names were announced.
“This is an acknowledgement of suffering and pain,” Amswych said, “and also the ability to move forward with action while saying, ‘We can’t forget who we’re doing this for.’ ”
The Interfaith Leadership Alliance of Santa Fe, which Amswych said has about 2,000 members from some 30 local congregations, organized Tuesday’s gathering as the first in a series called Thirty-Three Minutes of Memory.
The plan is to move the vigil to a new location each month — a traveling observance of the mass shootings that have become daily occurrences in the United States.
As of Tuesday, the 246th day of 2019, there have been
289 mass shootings in the U.S. since the start of the year, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as any incident in which at least four people were shot, excluding the shooter.
“The hope is to create an ongoing memorial,” said the Rev. Gail Marriner, a minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Santa Fe.
“Every time there is a national tragedy,” Marriner said, “in the next week, everybody has this big reaction and big services, and then we forget about it until the next time. This format recognizes a consistent need for this sort of grieving.”
Marriner said the end goal of the series of vigils, planned for the third day of each month, is to inspire people to push for legislation aimed at strengthening gun control and preventing gun violence. While that work is underway, she said, gatherings like Thirty Three Minutes of Memory are meant to unify those hoping to galvanize change.
“This isn’t just about legislation,” Amswych said. “This isn’t just about action. This is about being together through some dark times. When we come together to mourn, we are able to recognize our common values and say, ‘Enough is enough, and we ought to acknowledge the plague of gun violence in this country.’ ”
After Tuesday’s ceremony, the group held hands for a brief moment of peace before leaving with some new motivation.
“I do think that we need to stand up and be counted and not only grieve, but make it understood that this is not normal — this is not right, said Katie Updike, a former El Paso resident who now lives in Santa Fe.
“I think to some extent this is about setting intention,” she said. “Part of it may be mourning the loss of innocence, but a lot of it is setting intention going forward.”
Marriner lamented there wasn’t enough time at Tuesday’s event to name the victims of more recent shootings — such as those last week in Hobbs and West Texas. But, she said, “We will be back.”
The rose petals will fall in their honor in October.