Monday is National Day of Prayer to End Gun Violence. Please pray in memory of someone you know who was shot by a gun and make contact with a violence prevention organization.
I will be remembering my daughter Ellen's godfather, Jim Vaszko, who was shot in San Francisco as he rode his bicycle on May 1, 1990, as well as Martha Vargas, who was killed in 2003 in Sun Valley, California, and for whom this blog is named.
A deranged man driving around in a car picked out Jim and other victims on that May Day 19 years ago.
I remember kneeling to plant pansies and alyssum near my front door, with Marie (3 yrs. old) by my side when my husband drove home from work at midday on May 2. His face was stormy.
"What happened?" I asked. "Someone died?"
"Yes," he sobbed, falling onto my shoulder.
"Your mother?" I asked.
"No, Jim Vaszko!" he cried.
"Bicycling, hit by a car?" I asked. Jim was the original "less is more" person and did not own a car or a television.
"No--he was murdered," John sobbed. "On his bike in a park."
We flew up for the memorial Mass, where the serenity of his mother and father took us by surprise.
The song "On Eagles' Wings" from Psalm 91 was sung, including these lines:
You will not fear the terror of the night,
Or the arrow that flies by day...
Because you have made [YHWH] your refuge,
No evil shall befall you...
[She] will raise you up on eagles' wings,
Bear you on the breath of God,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you, hold you in the palm of [her] hands.
Hearing this assertion of faith in God's love and care, up against this tragic evidence of evil, was very moving.
(The song can be found in Breaking Bread from Oregon Catholic Press in Portland.)
Sarah Brady of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence writes:
Please join us this Monday, March 30, 2009 for the national Day of Prayer to End Gun Violence.
At noon, we will collectively pray for an end to the senseless gun violence that plagues our country and for the 280 people shot every day.
This day is of special significance to me as it is the day my husband Jim was wounded in the assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan and it begins a month of anniversaries of gun violence that are all too familiar: April 4, Martin Luther King; April 16, Virginia Tech shooting; and April 20, the tenth anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School, to list only a few.
However and whenever you participate on this day is up to you. You can take a moment by yourself, or organize something with your faith community, family, or prayer group. You can pray silently, ring a bell, light a candle, sing a song, read poetry or scripture, meditate, or any other prayerful activity.
Be sure to add your name to our prayer partner list so that we can send you some prayer ideas and you can make sure you are counted as participant.
In this new day of hope and optimism, let us acknowledge our individual and collective power to create change through prayer.
Let us, with the assurance of our faith, act on creating communities safe from gun violence where all children have the opportunity to grow and prosper, and where everyone can live without fear of being cut down by firearm violence.
For more information on the March 30th National Day of Prayer to End Gun Violence, to sign up as a prayer partner, or to download a flyer, go to http://www.godnotguns.org/.
Please join thousands of us across the country on Monday, March 30 at noon for the National Day of Prayer to End Gun Violence.
Sincerely, Sarah Brady, Chair
Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
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