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The Philadelphia Chapter Coordinating Committee (Philly Committee) works with Executive Director Bryan Miller to support and carry out Heeding’s activities based within the city of Philadelphia.  All of these activities, planned in cooperation with people directly  affected by gun violence, call attention to the reality and cost of gun violence – the first step toward action – and motivate those who experience them to take action to prevent gun violence.

  • The Philadelphia Memorial to the Lost – An annually-renewed display of tee-shirts, each marked with the name, date of death, and age at death of a person killed by gun homicide in the city of Philadelphia the previous year. The Memorial to the Lost is typically displayed on the grounds of a faith community for at least two weeks, along with signage and flyers explaining what it is and why it’s there.  It has been displayed, in part or all at once, in neighborhoods throughout the city.  To have the Memorial come to your faith community, contact us. A Philly Committee member to: Heeding also coordinated Memorial to the Lost in Chester, Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware counties.

  • Public Witness and Call to Action – An interfaith prayer and service held at or near the site of a fatal shooting, include opportunities for victims’ families to speak, and conclude with a pledge of action to reduce gun violence. Usually held about two months after the shooting, to allow time for communication with families without imposing on them in a time of sudden grief.  To request a Public Witness and Call to Action in your neighborhood, contact us.

  • Annual Interfaith Good Friday Observance – On this most solemn of Christian holy days, on which Jesus’ death stands symbolically for all deaths caused by unjust violence, we focus our spiritual attention on gun violence by meeting at a faith community location displaying the Memorial to the Lost.  After a brief interfaith opening service, we move in procession, carrying Memorial to the Lost tee-shirts, to nearby locations where gun violence has occurred, with brief prayer and preaching at each stop.  Click here to see a short video of the 2020 virtual observance.

  • Gun Violence Awareness Days – Gun Violence Awareness Days are organized by groups of faith communities in a particular area.  They include an opening interfaith gathering with informational and inspirational speakers and activities at one faith community location, followed by a procession to where the Memorial to the Lost is on display at another faith community location, and concluding with a time of action and reflection.

HEEDING GOD’S CALL TO END GUN VIOLENCE

Philadelphia Chapter Coordinating Committee
Rev. David W. Brown, Chair