26th Annual Commemoration
016 Commemoration Ceremony:
Remembering Those Who Lost Their Lives to Domestic Violence
Commemoration is a very special event for the Domestic Violence Network. For 26 years, we have held an annual service during Domestic Violence Awareness Month to honor those who lost their lives to domestic violence. It is a time of reflection, mourning and remembering the loss of these individuals whose senseless murders were more than a headline or statistic. Their murders left a hole in the community and in their families lives.
On October 4th, we gathered at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church to remember the 12 Central Indiana women who were victims of domestic violence:
Jakobi Adams
Brittany Bailey
Penny Jones Barker
Duane Begley
Patrick Brown
Janet Cook
Jessica Frazer
Sheena Grundy
Miguel Angel Hernandez
Tina Moore
Ardelle Stemmer
Gina Tan
Commemoration is a time when we remind ourselves why we do the work we do. At the service, a candle is lit for every individual who is no longer with us. By lighting a candle, we honor their memory by choosing to stand up against violence. When our friends or family members experience violence, we choose to support them. When the work seems too difficult and the pain we witness seems too much, we choose to carry on. When our mission seems futile and our efforts go unnoticed, we choose to stand and make our message heard. When we fight against a culture that ignores violence, we choose to declare a message of peace. When the cries of those abused are silenced, we choose to give them voice.
The loss of their lives was senseless, brutal, and shows us that we have much more work to do in our community. Our hope is that their light will shine through us, so that we can work to end violence toward all people.