Pastor's Perspective From the Olympian March 3, 2007

Blessings reclaim places of violence

Carol McKinley

With tears in her eyes, a woman came up to shake my hand. She was one of a small cluster of people lingering after a brief ritual beside a rural Thurston County road on a cold January afternoon. “I did not want to come here today, but I am so glad I did,” she said.

“Here” was where family, friends and the community came together on a winter day, seeking some measure of comfort in ritual, silence and shared memories.

The gathering was a Moment of Blessing, a ceremony to reclaim spiritually the space where a homicide has occurred and to express support to the victim’s family and neighbors.

Interfaith Works of Thurston County began the program in 2004, basing it on similar ministries in Tacoma, Seattle and Indianapolis. The Moment of Blessing ceremony centers around a ritual of reclaiming a place of violence as a place of life and peace.

When Interfaith Works receives word that a homicide has occurred, a member works with local law enforcement to verify information, then schedules the Moment of Blessing. Neighborhood fliers, e-mails to Interfaith Works members and clergy and news announcements in The Olympian inform neighbors and the public about the time and location of the service. Faith community leaders from Interfaith Works’ nearly 40-member congregations — including Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Baha’i, and Unitarian Universalist —participate in the ritual.

“We come together as a community, affirming that it is possible for us to heal,” I begin. “We bring here today the sure hope that life holds within it pure goodness and light. We bring hope, knowing that as we find and walk in that light, we live in fellowship with one another.”

One clergyperson observed, “A Moment of Blessing is about going to those places in the community that are seen as alienating, dark and even frightening, and naming them as places of hope and life.”

As the service continues, I introduce Interfaith Works members, describe what will occur and invite everyone to participate in the ritual. The Moment of Blessing acknowledges that the tragic loss of this person to violence reveals our collective failure to live as a true community, but offers hope that this painful experience will bring each of us to deeper understanding of the inherent worth of each life and greater caring for our neighbors.

The homicide victim is commemorated by tying a ribbon bearing his or her name to a memorial pole; then those gathered have an opportunity to reflect on their memories and to express their grief and loss.

I close the ceremony with words to reclaim symbolically the site as a place of life: “We heal this space from the violence and death that has occurred here, returning it to the community as a place of life, community and hope.”

Despite the cold, people do not disperse quickly. Family and neighbors stand together, sharing words of comfort and more stories about the person whose life we have remembered.

Like the woman who thanked me, I, too, am glad I came here. I am grateful to be part of a community that comes to a place of violent death to grieve its loss, yet affirms life and the Spirit that moves between and among us, calling us to awareness of the sacredness of all life.

The Rev. Carol McKinley is a Unitarian Universalist Community Minister endorsed by the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation. She is co-coordinator of Washington Unitarian Universalist Voices for Justice, a legislative advocacy network.

Perspective is coordinated by Interfaith Works in cooperation with The Olympian. The views expressed are those of the author.