Mourning into Unity
Candlelight Vigil and Procession
October 19, 2020
Members of Saint Saviour were on hand to help the Cathedral host a Mourning into Unity inter-faith prayer vigil and candlelight procession. The event was part of a larger nationwide effort to bring people together to grieve for all those lost to Covid-19 as well as for all of America’s collective losses.
Dean Daniels and members of Saint Saviour prepare to hand out masks and candles.
After introductory remarks by Vincent Alvarez (President, AFL-CIO, New York City Central Labor Counci), Dr. David Langer, (Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, Northwell Health, Lennox Hill Hospital), and Susan Lerner (Executive Director, Common Cause New York), prayers were offered in succession by inter-faith and local community leaders, ending with a short homily by Bishop Dietsche.
“O God our Comfort and our Strength, our help in the midst of trouble and our hope in the midst of despair, we come before you weighed down by months of pain and years of struggle. Give us the courage to face the tragedies that overwhelm us and the wisdom to name them with their true names, and strengthen the bonds between us that we might hold one another in our grief, encourage one another in our hope, and support one another in our commitment to a world healed and made new. And let all the people say: Amen.”
“By lighting our candles in this time of pandemic, we mourn the dead we know and those we don’t, the ones killed by racism, and the ones who died alone, held in their last minutes only by God. Even as we mourn the dead, we honor and pledge to live for the sake of a better future in our country and across our planet. We pledge to let God work through us to create a world made new. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, God’s mercies never come to an end”
Candles Lit in Grief and Hope.
After the vigil’s final prayers were spoken, hundreds of mourners took to the streets in a solemn march. The ‘stations’ of this ‘Via Dolorosa’ symbolized Anti-Black racism and murder (Frederick Douglass Circle), the horror of mass shootings in schools (Booker T. Washington Junior High School), the toll Covid-19 has taken on the elderly, especially those living in nursing homes (The Center at the Red Oak), and the loss of local businesses (Bank Street Bookstore).
Candle Light Procession lead by Sub-Dean Pat Malloy and members of Saint Saviour
Saint Saviour thanks to all those who gave their voices to the event: the various speakers, Mourning into Unity, Bishop Dietsche, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine’s Clergy and Staff, especially Pat Malloy who spearheaded the event and wrote the nationwide liturgy.
Participants
Mr. Vincent Alvarez | President, AFL-CIO, New York City Central Labor Council; Ms. Chloe Breyer | Executive Director, The Interfaith Center; Mr. Philip Binioris | The Hungarian Pastry Shop; The Rev. Karim Camara |Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives; The Right Reverend Clifton Daniel III |Dean, The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine; The Rt. Rev. Andrew ML Dietsche |Bishop Episcopal Diocese of New York; Ms. Devon Gilliams |Political Director, Doctor’s Council, Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Rabbi Yael Hammerman |Associate Rabbi, Congregation Ansche Chesed, UWS, Manhattan; The Rev. Protopresbyter Nicolas Kazarian | The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Dr. David Langer | Chair, Department of Neurosurgery, Northwell Health, Lennox Hill Hospital; Ms. Susan Lerner | Executive Director, Common Cause New York; Rabbi Joseph Potasnik |Executive Vice-President, New York Board of Rabbis; Mr. Neil Reilly | Director of Public Affairs, State Senator Brian Benjamin; Mr. Terry J. Washington | Community Minister, Judson Memorial Church; Mr. Gregory Zannitto | Managing Director, Greenwich Village Funeral Home