Nineteen children and two teachers were killed.
Uziyah Garcia, 9 years old
Amerie Garza, 10 years old
Xavier Lopez, 10 years old
Tess Mata, 10 years old
Ellie Garcia, 9 years old
Rojelio Torres, 10 years old
Jose Flores, 10 years old
Jaliah Silguero, 10 years old
Jayce Luevanos, 10 years old
Layla Salazar, 10 years old
Nevaeh Bravo, 10 years old
Jackie Cazares, 10 years old
Anabelle Rodriguez, 10 years old
Eliahna Torres, 10 years old
Makenna Lee Elrod, 10 years old
Lexi Rubio, 10 years old
Maite Rodriguez, 10 years old
Alithia Ramirez, 10 years old
Miranda Mathis, 11 years old
Eva Mireles, teacher, 44 years old
Irma Garcia, teacher, 48 years old
A community was torn apart, families are beyond devastated.
And for us, we watch in terror, anger, and dread.
Feeling stuck, powerless, and unsafe.
It was a massacre of innocent children, and another attack on our ability to hope.
So what do we do? How do we at least protect our ability to hope if we can’t protect our children?
I don’t have the answers. Grotto Network doesn’t have the answers. But we are a community that seeks to find hope. Who believes that hope is still alive in a culture of death. It’s alive in our relationships with one another, it’s alive in our unending work for change, it’s alive in the quiet and resolve of our faith.
Without hope, we lose the will to make this violence stop. We accept it as the cost for living in this country — even though no other country faces this sort of gun violence. Without hope, we accept the empty platitudes and let ourselves move on. Without hope, nothing changes.
So here are some ways we will be trying to remind ourselves to hope in the face of this tragedy. We invite you to join in and offer your own ways at keeping hope alive. While we mourn those innocents lost in Uvalde, in Buffalo, in Orange County, in communities across the country, we won’t let our hope become another casualty.
If you would like to support the fundraiser started by Grotto freelance producer and Uvalde native, Krissy Estrada and fellow Uvaldean, Lari Alejandro, check out their Custom Ink campaign.
More Resources
- What Good are “Thoughts and Prayers” Anyway?
- 5 Simple Steps for Writing Your Congressperson
- How to Take a Thoughtful Approach to Voting
- Take These Steps to Make Sure Your Vote Counts
- These Sources will Help You Prepare for the Polls
- A Prayer for Racial Justice
- Educate Yourself On Racial Injustice with These Movies
- 3 Ways Faith Can Help Us Combat Racism
- How to Be an Ally in the Fight for Racial Justice
