A Public Witness to Gun Violence
In partnership with Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence, FEGV collaborative welcomes requests for assistance to host a Memorial to the Lost on Friends Meeting grounds. Email FEGVClerk@PYM.org to find out more about how to host a Memorial to the Lost at your meeting.
The memorials are a visual tool for representation and education about the harm done to our communities because of gun violence. Each person killed by a gun in the relevant locale is honored with a t-shirt with their name, birth and death dates, and age at the time of their death.
- Does hosting a Memorial to the Lost jeopardize our meeting’s nonprofit status?
There is no problem with a meeting hosting a Memorial to the Lost as a witness to our concern for peace, justice, and equality. This is considered advocacy and we can do as much of this as we can! Heeding God’s Call will also invite individuals who are so led to sign letters to their elected officials expressing their concerns. These letters mention specific bills and ask the representative to vote yes or no. This is considered lobbying. Signing the letters (or not) is an individual decision, not an action of the meeting.
- What provisions are in place if someone becomes upset when we host a Memorial to the Lost?
Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence, the sponsor of the Memorials, agrees to post information on how to receive pastoral care during the installation. The meeting can also provide its own pastoral care. If a family member of someone lost to gun violence objects to having a shirt with that person’s name on it included, it will be removed immediately by the county coordinator of Heeding God’s Call or the meeting member organizing the Memorial.
June 23, 2024. Downingtown Friends Meeting installed the Chester County Memorial to the Lost on their meeting grounds.
We encourage you to email our co-clerks at FEGVClerk@pym.org to tell us why you are passionate about gun violence prevention or inquire about our work & how to get involved.
