Dear Friend,

Today at 12 p.m. EDT, join us for a virtual service happening on the Sojourners Facebook page. We invite you to come together with people of faith across the U.S. as we grieve, mourn, and honor the people we have lost in the past few weeks – family, friends, and loved ones – and reflect on systemic injustice across the nation. Prayers will be offered by interfaith leaders including Rev. Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Rev. Jim Wallis, Rabbi David Saperstein, Dr. Mohamed Elsanousi, Bishop Michael Curry, and more.

Over the weekend, our Muslim and Jewish neighbors joined us in marking 100,000 deaths in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also the pandemic within the pandemic: the loss of black lives due to police brutality. We are partnering with them and with mayors in over three dozen cities and over 15 states to make today a National Day of Mourning and Lament.

As people of faith, we refuse to let these deaths go unnoticed. Our nation needs time and space to truly mourn and lament the loss of our loved ones taken from us by COVID-19 and by police brutality.

We also invite and encourage you to join us in remembering the lives that have been lost by:

Watching and then sharing widely this video on social media and with your faith community. The video provides a powerful overview of and explains ways in which people can support and join this effort, and it is taken from the call for a National Day of Mourning and Lament, which you can read in full here, including all the diverse faith leaders who are sharing it. The video can also be shared in virtual services and prayer vigils this week.
Sharing on social media. Share images that symbolize what this means to you on social media, using the hashtags #DayofMourning and #Lament100k. We are using images of empty chairs, signifying those who will not return to our homes and dinner tables, and lit candles, as prayers for those lost and those grieving. You can choose any image that represents this moment for you.
Personally making space for lament in the coming week. Take time to recognize the loss we have faced individually and collectively as a nation.

During this time, we are not only lamenting the loss of our neighbors, but also lamenting the inequities and brokenness that COVID-19 has revealed. We lament the overwhelming impact of the virus on our elders. We lament the disproportionate rate of infection and death among the black community, which has been compounded by the trauma of George Floyd’s recent tragic killing due to police brutality and racism. We lament the loss of our Native brothers and sisters who have been hit particularly hard. We lament the racism directed at the Asian American community.

As people of faith, we are called to mourn and lament the loss of these 100,000 people, each beloved and made in God’s image. We must take the time to grieve so we can help to heal as we move forward in facing these challenges together. We hope you will join us in this time of lament with your faith communities over the weekend and as one people of faith.

Prayerfully,

Rev. Jim Wallis, Founder & President, Sojourners

Rev. Adam R. Taylor, Executive Director, Sojourners