May Victims of Gun Violence

Prayers for Victims of Gun Violence in the city of Birmingham, Alabama

Since the beginning of 2025, 32 lives have been lost to gun violence and other acts of violence across Birmingham. In the month of May, we grieve the deaths of:

Frank Jackson, 60
Britney Nashaye Summerhill, 34
Literrance Leon Bratton, 31
Calvin Dewayne Ball, 44

Each Sunday, we remember these names in our prayers, asking God to bless and keep them, to grant them rest in that land where there is neither sorrow nor sighing, but life eternal.

We also lift our voices in prayer for an end to the violence that wounds our community and breaks so many hearts. Below is a prayer for the victims and a prayer for all who mourn.

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A Prayer for the Victims
from Education for Justice, a project of the Ignatian Solidarity Project

Christ, you wept over a city. We are in deepest despair.
As we weep over the dead and injured killed by guns, in anguish,
we recognize the blood stains of hatred.
We hear the sounds of fear, the echoes of gunshots — once again, once again.

Christ, you came to bring us peace.
We turn to you in overwhelming sorrow.
How can we end this nightmare of violence?
How can we build a world of inclusion, of solidarity?
Give us the grace to reflect deeply and to work ceaselessly
to heal the hearts; to stop the guns; to cherish all God’s children.

Christ, you endured violent suffering to bring us light.
We pray for the dead, may they rest in peace.
We pray for the wounded, may they find healing.
We pray for our nation, may we end the hate.
We pray for our global family, may we learn we are one.
Amen.