Lisa Schneider. Hans-Ulrich Santmann. Andrea After Buffalo. Gary Bowman. Luciano Salvador Placido. Caroline Lange. Kevin “Puppet” Raile. Robin Hughes. Brian Johnson.
On November 8th the Mass in Remembrance of the Deceased Homeless in Seattle occurred at St. James Cathedral, a mass given each year in conjunction with All Souls Day.
Delilah Hernandez. Chad Jones. Meles Gebreberhan. Kay De Witt Matteson. Douglas Ross. Sour Nou. Jacob DeMasters. Patrick Power. Roxy Baker. Maurice McCorkle. Jessica Wy.
209 homeless people have died in the Seattle area since the previous year’s Mass, an increase of almost 80% from the year before. Some died on the street. Some died in shelters or hospitals. Some committed suicide. Some were killed.
Nicholas Runningfisher. John Ballash III. Xavier-Alexis Garay. Kelly James. Leanne Foley.
Mohammed Karshe. Anna Klimchuk. Justin Schoemacher. Dianna Bancale. Dennis Mooney.
The congregants sang of the “Holy City, where tears are wiped from eyes.” The priest talked about the homelessness of Christ.
Perphecious Winslow-Castro. Gary Oliver. Enkhtaivan Zagdsuren. Bobby Lee Oxford Jr. Sabrina Tate. Trent Jackson. Billie Jo Bresnahan. Jose Ramirez Ocampos. Ashlyn Bartlett.
The last name on the bulletin list of the 209 who died was Brian Kingsolver. The question of “solving” the problem of people dying in the streets was in the air...but left there on this evening. The focus was on telling and grieving the people whose stories were often not told or grieved.
Mohammed Karshe. Alex Norton. Diana “Dani” Wyatt. Judah Corsini. April Korosec. Gregory Fields. Egnacio Marino. Angela Gulliford. Dyan Stensrud. Jeffrey Counts.
As Mass finished, the Cathedral Bagpiper led the congregation out the door into the courtyard. The priest read out each name as the Cathedral funeral bell tolled continuously. He concluded with: “May they rest in peace.”
Amen.