Mass shootings capture our attention, as well they should.
February 14 will mark the one-year commemoration of the Parkland High School shooting in Florida. In February 2016 Kalamazoo joined the list of other communities mourning mass shootings. In 2019 there have been 27 mass shootings to date.
Gun violence is more than mass killings.
Every day in the United States 96 lives are taken by gun violence – children, young adults, middle aged, older people, of all backgrounds and life situations. As of Tuesday the 29th of January 1,117 people have died from gun violence in the United States. 45 of these deaths were children ages 0-11 and 179 youth aged 12-17. The injured total 1,963. (Gun Violence Archive)
By FEBRUARY 1 in the United States, there will be more deaths by gunshot in one month than other industrialized nations experience in ONE YEAR. (Everytown for Gun Safety)
Statistically 52% of the population of the United States has experienced gun violence directly or indirectly. In Kalamazoo hundreds know the ripple effects of gun violence.
This annual service is a time to remember those whose lives have been taken, to give our mutual encouragement to survivors, and to renew our commitment to address gun violence through spiritual and political action.
You are invited to bring a photo of a loved one taken by gun violence, to offer their name for remembrance during the service, and to place your photo on the Memory Wall.
Dr. Michael T. Scott, Sr. will serve as host pastor. Elder Douglas King of Grace Covenant Ministries will bring the message. Everytown Survivor Fellow, Celeste Kanpurwala, will share her story. Music, prayer, and naming loved ones will encourage and inspire. Following the service there will be a time of Fellowship, conversation, and opportunity to speak with mental health practitioners as you may have need. Everyone is cordially invited to attend.
– Rev. Linda MacDonald, founding co-president of ISAAC