DAVENPORT, IOWA -- Nine Scott County churches are teaming up to honor lives lost in the community. They are remembering victims of gun violence with T-shirts. It's called "Memorial to the Lost."
"I think it really does help people to understand how huge gun violence is in our own community," First Presbyterian Reverend Katie Styrt said. "We worry so much about the big city or Chicago, but in reality, gun violence is everywhere."
Each T-shirt represents a victim of gun violence in Scott County since 2014.
Every shirt has the name of a victim from our community written on the front. Some have the dates of their passing and photos. There are 27 shirts, up one more from last summer.
The smallest T-shirt represents the youngest victim, who was only two years old.
"This way we really get people to understand there are children who are dying, older folks who are dying, families who are dying," Reverend Styrt said. "This is something important that we need to work on as a community."
Church organizers decided to stand the shirts on the side of the road to help put a face and perspective on the amount of lost lives. Also, to continue to lift up the lives of those passed away.
Each Saturday the church host of the shirts for the week will hold a brief service at 10 a.m. for each victim.
Then on Friday nights at 5 p.m., the shirts will be marched through the neighborhoods to the next hosting church.
Stryt says it is another opportunity and outlet for the families of the victims to grieve.
Shirt Schedule:
May 24th: Memorial to Lost move to 3rd Missionary
May 31st: Memorial to Lost Move to Bethel
June 7th: Memorial to Lost move to Trinity
June 14th: Memorial to Lost move to St John Methodist
June 21st: Memorial to Lost moved to First Baptist
June 28th: Memorial to Lost move to Sacred Heart
July 5th: Memorial to Lost move to First Christian
