I watched the somber memorial-ceremony 4/13 from Capitol Hill, for William ‘Billy’ Evans, the 18-year Capitol Police-veteran, who was killed 4/2, on Good Friday, when a lost-soul intentionally rammed his vehicle into a barrier outside the U.S. Capitol, another officer was severely-injured; the assailant pulling a knife, charging, was shot to death. Billy Evans is the second Capitol police-officer to lie in honor in the rotunda THIS YEAR, and receive moving tribute from President Biden, Senate-Majority-Leader Schumer, House-Speaker Pelosi. President Biden assured the family, “You’re gonna make it, by holding each other together, holding Abigail & Logan close”. Schumer expressed gratitude, “on behalf of the entire Congress”, for Evans “a martyr for our democracy”. Pelosi spoke for the assemblage of Capitol Police & Congress that they’d “hold him in their hearts”, and quoted John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Several Capitol officers sang the hymn-like dirge, “like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down”. Evans was hailed as a hero, who loved his job and his family. His lovely wife, Shannon, in quiet-grief and dignity, accompanied their 7 yr- old daughter, Abigail, and their 9 yr-old son, Logan, who wore his father’s police hat, while holding a teddy bear. Before giving his tribute, President Biden had stood, reached down, retrieved a toy dropped by Abigail, walked over and smilingly handed it to her.
America is saturated in sadness; we hold a collective mourning for all the families who have lost loved ones to Covid-19, to separations, violence, substance-abuse, suicide, to death by police, which feels all too common an occurrence. Trauma is cumulative; we hold it in our psyches, in our bodies, and it seems very difficult to dislodge & release. Duante Wright, 20, killed by a 26-year-veteran-officer, who mistook her gun for her taser! ANOTHER YOUTH GONE! Watching media-coverage on 4/12/21 of the Derek Chauvin murder/manslaughter trial in the death of George Floyd, I listened to the younger brother, Philonise Floyd, speak soulfully of his older brother George or ‘Perry’. He spoke of the many ways that Perry was their hero, the things Perry taught them, the ways he tried to take care of them. Can we be heroes if we’re flawed? Aren’t we all flawed? Lost to one degree or another? How can we help the lost, to bind-up the broken-hearted, to affect healing? Tender words of Jesus, “Feed my sheep; love one another”.
Trish Forsyth Voss
Apr 20 2021
Our collective mourning
I watched the somber memorial-ceremony 4/13 from Capitol Hill, for William ‘Billy’ Evans, the 18-year Capitol Police-veteran, who was killed 4/2, on Good Friday, when a lost-soul intentionally rammed his vehicle into a barrier outside the U.S. Capitol, another officer was severely-injured; the assailant pulling a knife, charging, was shot to death. Billy Evans is the second Capitol police-officer to lie in honor in the rotunda THIS YEAR, and receive moving tribute from President Biden, Senate-Majority-Leader Schumer, House-Speaker Pelosi. President Biden assured the family, “You’re gonna make it, by holding each other together, holding Abigail & Logan close”. Schumer expressed gratitude, “on behalf of the entire Congress”, for Evans “a martyr for our democracy”. Pelosi spoke for the assemblage of Capitol Police & Congress that they’d “hold him in their hearts”, and quoted John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Several Capitol officers sang the hymn-like dirge, “like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down”. Evans was hailed as a hero, who loved his job and his family. His lovely wife, Shannon, in quiet-grief and dignity, accompanied their 7 yr- old daughter, Abigail, and their 9 yr-old son, Logan, who wore his father’s police hat, while holding a teddy bear. Before giving his tribute, President Biden had stood, reached down, retrieved a toy dropped by Abigail, walked over and smilingly handed it to her.
America is saturated in sadness; we hold a collective mourning for all the families who have lost loved ones to Covid-19, to separations, violence, substance-abuse, suicide, to death by police, which feels all too common an occurrence. Trauma is cumulative; we hold it in our psyches, in our bodies, and it seems very difficult to dislodge & release. Duante Wright, 20, killed by a 26-year-veteran-officer, who mistook her gun for her taser! ANOTHER YOUTH GONE! Watching media-coverage on 4/12/21 of the Derek Chauvin murder/manslaughter trial in the death of George Floyd, I listened to the younger brother, Philonise Floyd, speak soulfully of his older brother George or ‘Perry’. He spoke of the many ways that Perry was their hero, the things Perry taught them, the ways he tried to take care of them. Can we be heroes if we’re flawed? Aren’t we all flawed? Lost to one degree or another? How can we help the lost, to bind-up the broken-hearted, to affect healing? Tender words of Jesus, “Feed my sheep; love one another”.
Trish Forsyth Voss
By spiritspeak • Uncategorized 0