On Thursday night, the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church rang with voices united in song: “Dona nobis pacem.”
In Latin, “Grant us peace.”
When churchgoers made their way up the steps of the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church, they walked past a rainbow chalked onto the steps, and were welcomed by leaders of several churches, many of whom wore rainbow-colored stoles around their necks, in recognition and solidarity with the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.
“There needs to be an end somewhere to all this mass shooting and death,” said Morgan Cooper of Peterborough, who attended the interfaith observance of the shooting victims. “I’m just here to stand in solidarity with those across our nation.”
Representatives from the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church, All Saints Episcopal Church, the Union Congregational Church and the Temple Forest Monastery all spoke at the pulpit, encouraging healing and love to a crowd of bowed heads.
“There are still many questions surrounding the brutal murder of 49 beautiful souls at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the early morning hours of June 13,” said the Rev. Shayna Appel of the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church. “We won’t be answering any of those tonight. Tonight, we gather the pieces of our broken hearts.”
Forty-nine people were killed and 53 injured when Omar Mateen, 29, of Orlando, opened fire in a gay nightclub.
“In times such as this, the very architecture of our interdependence is palpable, and it draws us like an invisible web to stand together in grief, to stand together in hope, to stand together on the side of love,” said Appel.
In addition to sermons, the observance also included a reading of the names of the deceased, with regular pauses as the choral group TraverSing sang short hymns in their memory. The names were read by CT O’Connor and Vanessa Amsbury-Bonilla.
As the daylight faded, those in attendance lit candles and sang hymns of their own, asking for peace for themselves and the dead and injured and their families.
As the candles were lit, Marybeth Hallinan, the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church accompanist and director of TraverSing, sang a haunting rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
“We have this saying in Thailand, where our tradition is rooted,” said Ajahn Jayanto, abbot of the Temple Forest Monastery. “That we are brothers and sisters in suffering. And that can be seen very negative – to focus on the fact that we all suffer and the fact that we all feel pain. And yet to acknowledge this and to be conscious of this brings us all closer together.”
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.