Memorials to the Lost
The child-size shirt is hard not to notice in the “Memorials to the Lost” exhibit on the lawn in front of the church. Sadly, there’s more than one. Each t-shirt is for someone who died as a result of gun violence in 2014. There are 46 t-shirts, a number somewhat arbitrarily chosen, as we wanted to make sure all of the counties in NJ comprising the Diocese of Newark were represented. The names were gathered from police reports, prosecutor’s websites and news reports. As we approach the third anniversary of the Newtown shootings, and in a time that seems rife with gun violence, as a faith community we were inspired by Heeding God’s Call, a movement that works to prevent gun violence.