December 17, 2022

We remember the victims and Move forward together to end gun violence.

 

Our Speakers & Contributors

The Very Reverend Penny Bridges
Dean, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral where diversity is respected, encouraged and protected; member, Mayor’s AIDS Memorial Task Force; co-founder of San Diego Women in Ministry, an interfaith women clergy group.
stpaulcathedral.org

Dr. Sophie Webber
Dr Sophie Webber (cello) is an internationally accomplished soloist, chamber musician, and educator, who believes in the healing power of music. For more information, and for upcoming performances, please visit www.sophiewebber.com

Darius Mozafarian
Former dance professor, a gypsy at heart with multicultural background, who loves to capture and share the spirit of the moment through spontaneously created music of the body, and the dance of the mind.

Bishop Cornelius Bowser
Founding Pastor of Charity Apostolic Church and founder of Shaphat Outreach, a ministry dedicated to preventing gang and gun violence. https://www.corneliusbowser-gangs.com/

Our Savior’s Youth Band
Students of Mid-City Music Center and young people from Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in North Park bring their voices and music to honor victims and survivors of gun violence.

Pastor Maria Santa Cruz
Pastor of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, North Park since 1996. A native of Mexico, Pastor Maria leads a bilingual service every Sunday at her Church. https://oursaviorslutheransd.org/

Pastor Jesús Sandoval
Senior Pastor at Remnant Church, Executive Director, San Diego Commission on Gang Violence Prevention and Intervention and founder of Community Wraparound, an outreach to gang-impacted youth. info@communitywraparound.org

Liz and Carlos Muñoz
Liz and Carlos lost their son, Juan Carlos Muñoz Jr., to gun violence in 2015 and now lead the San Diego Chapter of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, a network of crime survivors joining together to create healing communities and shape public policy. They are also founders of Jr’s Trauma Care Initiative focusing on trauma recovery through mental health services. jrstraumacareinitiative.org / https://cssj.org/

Sarah Bekele
Sarah is a survivor of gun violence took place on October 26,2020. Her boyfriend Malik Millhouse shielded her and in the act of saving her life, lost his. Sarah survived 6 gun shots and now is an advocate on gun-violence prevention

 

Sue Taylor
Retired English/ESL teacher, tutor who loves poetry.

San Diego Creative Arts International
Inspires and trains students of all ages, generations, and backgrounds – who desire to grow artistically and confidently in the performing arts. The organization is committed to providing access to the arts as well as the stability of consistent after-school activity for children, especially those who might not otherwise be able to afford it. creativeartsinternational.org / 619-786-0523 / sdcreativearts@gmail.com

Marsha Brook
Sculptor dedicated to creating portraits of people who work to improve society. She has created three works for this vigil: James Brady, Gabby Giffords and Tariq Khamisa. See below for their contributions to the gun violence prevention movement.

 

Sculpture Subjects

James Brady
White House press secretary for Ronald Reagan who was shot in an attempt on the President’s life. He and his wife Sarah fought for stronger gun control, founded the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and in 1993 were instrumental in passing the background check bill, known as the Brady Bill. https://www.bradyunited.org/

Gabby Giffords
Former Arizona Congresswoman and outspoken advocate for gun violence prevention, Giffords was shot in 2011 and after a long recovery has gone on to form Giffords, a law center and PAC, whose mission is to “fight to end the gun lobby’s stranglehold on our political system.”
https://giffords.org/lawcenter/gun-laws/

Tariq Khamisa
In 1995 Tariq Khamisa was killed by a 14-year-old gang member, Tony Hicks. Tony was tried as an adult and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Tariq’s father, Azim Khami– sa, felt this tragedy created victims on both ends of the gun. In an extraordinary act of grace and forgiveness, Azim reached out to Tony’s grandfather, Ples Felix. The two men came together in the spirit of healing to end youth violence. They formed the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TKF) which is dedicated to teaching forgiveness, hope and peace. https://tkf.org/