Laments are “a legitimate prayer,” Rev. Nora Boerner told the people gathered at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City on Monday evening. “Anger is a legitimate prayer. Frustration, pain, anything that you are feeling and anything you believe, you can offer to God, Higher Being, Source, whatever that may be.”
“If at night you need to scream and say, ‘Why God, why?’ That is a legitimate prayer.”
Boerner, known as Mother Nora, is the rector of Trinity, and the more than 100 people at the church located one block from the Ped Mall, were there for a vigil following a shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning. The vigil was for community members who wanted to come together “for healing, for unity,” Boerner said.
According to the Iowa City Police Department, “At 1:46 a.m., police responded to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street [the Clinton St side of the Ped Mall]. Arriving officers heard gunfire.”
Five people were injured, three of them were University of Iowa students. The injured were taken to the hospital. “One victim remains in critical condition, two are in stable condition, and two are no longer hospitalized,” ICPD said in an update on Monday. The police continue to investigate the incident, no arrests have been made.
The vigil at Trinity, featuring prayers, song and moments of silence was ecumenical.
Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz of Agudas Achim Congregation in Coralville offered “a prayer from my tradition that has been composed for gun violence.”
The prayer, “Against Gun Violence,” was written in response to the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Forty-nine people were killed, and 58 injured before the police shot and killed the gunman.
The prayer begins by calling on God and evoking those lamenting “beside graves opened too soon.”
The child shot,
The suicide,
The domestic assault,
The gang violence,
The mass murder,
The long night of death made easy by guns
And automatic weapons.
The long night of sorrow made easy
By reckless access to machines of slaughter.
The prayer then asks for blessings for those working to end gun violence and for those who mourn losses caused by easy access to guns.
Bless those who dedicate themselves to gun control.
Grant them fortitude and perseverance.
May the work of their hands never falter
Nor despair deter them from their holy calling.
Bless those who are mourning the dead.
Grant them solace and comfort.
Bless those who are healing from the trauma of gun violence.
Grant them lives of health and prosperity,
Joy and peace.
After prayers were concluded, the vigil attendees marched from Trinity across the Ped Mall to the site of the violence early Sunday morning. Following more prayer, singing and quiet reflection, people turned to each other to talk and express their feelings.
Earlier at Trinity, Temple Hiatt of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America spoke to the people gathered at the church, urging anyone affected by the shooting to “practice self-care.”
“Everyone experiences trauma differently, because of who you are and your own personal experiences,” Hiatt, a survivor of gun violence, reminded listeners. “… Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional support. There is support available through the UI Crisis Line, or by contacting 988.”
