A coalition of religious and community-service groups in Southwest Baltimore plans to continue its anti-violence conversation with a prayer vigil and walk two days after Christmas.
The event, which will start at St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish, is a follow-up to a gun buyback and community peace-building and resource fair, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, that was held in August at Edmondson Village Shopping Center.
During the Dec. 27 walk, participants will pray for victims of violence in Baltimore City, pausing to read the names of each homicide victim in Baltimore during this past year.
“It’s a way of keeping these people’s memories alive and supporting their surviving loved ones,” said Father Michael Murphy, pastor at St. Joseph’s and one of the primary organizers of the event. “We want to show that these people weren’t just statistics. They were real people who left real grieving families behind.
“We are purposely holding it during the Christmas season because this is such a tough time of year for those who have lost loved ones. It’s important to keep those people in our focus,” he said. “It’s important to pray for those we’ve lost and for the survivors. Prayer always brings a sense of peace.”
The walk will begin at 5:30 p.m. at 3801 Old Frederick Road and proceed by candlelight to the offices of My Brother’s Keeper, supported along the way by the Baltimore City Police Department. The walk is less than a mile.
The prayer vigil is part of the ongoing efforts of Health By Southwest “to improve and reform the social drivers of health” through a partnership with St. Joseph’s Monastery, Catholic Charities, My Brother’s Keeper, Mount St. Joseph High School and Ascension St. Agnes Hospital.
It is an extension of the archdiocese’s Grief Ministry, serving victims’ families with the Baltimore Police Department and Roberta’s House, a nonprofit family grief-support center.
Kevin Mason, director of My Brother’s Keeper, said the Catholic Charities’ program is grateful to be able to collaborate with other organizations in the area to promote unity and peace.
“It’s an opportunity to mobilize the efforts to prevent violence,” Mason said. “The prayer vigil will bring together the community with the goal of developing strategies to change the narrative in our community. We are pleased to be able to collaborate with all of these parishes, providers and dignitaries to bring about change.”
Oliva Farrow, community engagement and advocacy director for Ascension St. Agnes Hospital, also said collaboration was important for the community.
“We’re trying to lift up this community by being a cohesive group,” said Farrow, a graduate of Mount St. Joseph Academy in Buffalo, N.Y. “It’s important to recognize the pain in the community and provide support in any way we can. At St. Agnes, we’re trying to be an extension of the community.”
In August, the Health By Southwest coalition collected enough donations to get 362 firearms off the streets through the gun buyback.
“We didn’t want the gun buyback to be a one-and-done event,” Father Murphy said. “We want to continue the conversation to pray for the end of violence and to keep our efforts in the public eye.”
After the walk, the resource center at My Brother’s Keeper will welcome guests for hot chocolate and fellowship. A minibus from Mount St. Joseph will provide rides back to the parish.
Mason said more than 200 are expected to attend the vigil and encourages anyone who wants to join the effort to reach out to My Brother’s Keeper (667-600-2951, kmason@cc-md.org) or St. Joseph’s Monastery (410-566-0877, info@sjmp.org).
Email Gerry Jackson @ gjackson@catholicreview.org
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