The Rt. Rev. Gayle E. Harris, Bishop Suffragan, invites others to join her, in prayer and in person, for a witness against violence in Washington, D.C., on Holy Monday, March 25. The witness is being organized by the Diocese of Connecticut. Harris's letter of invitation follows below.
My Sisters and Brothers:
Jesus, you spoke with passion. You acted without fear, and we remember. Help us when we have to speak out, to speak the truth and without malice to speak. (Collect for Holy Monday, New Zealand Book of Common Prayer)
As our journey with Christ in Holy Week approaches and we remember the cruel death of Jesus on the cross, we are in the midst of seeing and experiencing the horrific trauma and pain of gun violence in this nation.
Holy Week’s journey is a walk with Jesus against all the powers of destruction and death. It is a walk for the victory of love and life. On Holy Monday, March 25 I invite you to join me and our sister and brother Episcopalians from the Diocese of Connecticut, including their bishops, Ian Douglas, James Curry and Laura Ahrens, in Washington, D.C., to make a witness against violence.
Our Holy Monday witness will follow the liturgy of the Way of the Cross, stopping at 14 stations for time in prayer, personal reflection and speaking out for reform. We will begin with prayers at 10:30 a.m. in Lafayette Square in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church at 16th and H Streets NW. We will arrive at the Capitol’s West Steps between 1 and 1:30 p.m. Then, at 2 p.m., we will gather in the Montpelier Room of the Madison Building of the Library of Congress to hear from church and government leaders in support of President Obama’s call for gun reform and legislative actions pending in Congress.
The Diocese of Connecticut has arranged for bus transportation from three locations in Connecticut: East Hartford, North Haven and Stamford. Advance online sign-up is required. You can find all the information on the Diocese of Connecticut’s Web site: https://www.ctepiscopal.org/Content/Holy_Week_Witness.asp
Come join us, in person if you can or in prayer wherever you may be that day, praying to God “mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace.” (Collect for Holy Monday, Book of Common Prayer)
In Christ,
/s/ Gayle E. Harris