Friends,

While we prepare for inauguration -- a time for celebration and hope -- we can't ignore that it is happening during the midst of a pandemic with so many Americans grieving the loss of family, friends, and neighbors.

It is important that we honor those who have died, reflect on what has been one of the more challenging periods in the nation's history, and renew our commitment to coming together to end the pandemic and rebuild our nation.

Wherever you are, let's come together for a moment to mourn those we lost to the pandemic by lighting a candle, illuminating a building, or ringing church bells later today, January 19, at 5:30 pm ET.

Tune in to our official livestream with the first-ever lighting around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and unite with the rest of the country during these unprecedented times.

Together, we will pause in remembrance of the many lives cut short and begin to heal as a nation.

In unity,

Presidential Inaugural Committee