Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Beth Am Israel, Town Hall at Or Hadash

The Souls Shot project was invited to have a table at a Town Hall meeting at Or Hadash on Sunday. We were also invited to speak briefly about the project. There was a spirited discussion around the topic of gun violence and legislation addressing it. On the panel were State Representatives Stevens, R, and McCarter, D. We were able to speak with many visitors including some who had experienced loss from suicide by gun, an enormous problem and one not yet represented by the project.

Yesterday, we were able to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Beth Am Israel, where the portraits currently hang in the sanctuary and foyer. Hundreds of people attended and had an opportunity to see the exhibition between working on various service projects in the building and outside.

I was able to take a group of Ursinus students through the exhibition and discuss the artists’ approaches and other aspects of the project. We were lucky to have one of the mothers of a victim there to talk about her daughter, Lauren Fenningham’s, portrait made by Elisa Markoff. Sherree Smith spoke of the grief she felt after losing her daughter and of how she came to her in a dream. Elisa was able to recreate, in effect, the images Sherree had seen in her dream.

The highlight of the day, for the project, was our participation in a panel discussion entitled Justice and Healing Panel:Souls Shot Portrait Project. The panel was moderated by Rabbi David Ackerman of Beth Am Israel and was held in the sanctuary where most of the portraits are. There were two artists, Eliza Abeloff who is one of the current artists, and responsible for arranging the exhibition to be there, and me, and two mothers of victims, Lisa Harmon and Trina Singleton. Lisa was asked about the first time she saw the portrait of her son Alan Christopher Gray, aka Fresh, by Elisa. She spoke so eloquently about how she was shocked and afraid to look at it. She described how she couldn’t recognize her son and she felt a deep disappointment. In reflection, she recalls the realization that it was a beautiful and loving portrait which did indeed represent her son was a confirmation that he really was gone. Grief is complicated and comes in waves and this confrontation by his image was hard to bear at first. She went on to talk about how much she loves the portrait and how grateful she is that her son is being introduced to so many people as he travels with the exhibition. She is with Mom’s Bonded by Grief.

Trina Singleton also spoke eloquently about the grief and the difficulty of everyday life after the loss as momentous as one’s child. Her son, Darryl’s portrait was featured in the very first edition of the project. She spoke about her reticence to go through with meeting the artist and recalled their first meeting. In fact, Meri Adelman, the artist, was having her own second thoughts. I ended up meeting with both of them the first time. Trina had brought many photographs of Darryl and we talked for a very long time. Meri went on to not only make more than a dozen portraits of Darryl, but also drew Trina and her husband, Darryl’s father from life. She remarked to Trina when she was finally able to stop drawing and painting Darryl, that she realized she was feeling his presence so deeply that she felt somehow creating images of him would bring him back.

Trina brought her two favorite portraits by Meri of Darryl to the sanctuary.

Elisa and I spoke to that very sensation. Having images of the lost ones in our studios, the notes from talking to the grieving families and friends, sketches, videos, created an immersive and intense environment. I confess I speak to the portraits as I work on them, hang them, transport them, pack them away.

There were many questions and comments from those attending the panel discussion. One of the most poignant was the description of the first Shabbat service after the portraits were installed. At a time in the service normally reserved for prayer and reflection, Rabbi David invited the congregants to get up and go to one of the portraits and commune with that soul. One congregant spoke of hearts being opened by this experience.

These portraits are doing that important work of opening hearts and minds and dissolving prejudices and assumptions about who is effected and where and why. The issue is immensely complicated and there was a spirited discussion of paths to take to solving this crisis. One person talked about the importance of voting and taking action beyond just wanting to give these mothers and friends and relatives hugs. While that is indeed true, the hugs are needed, also, and Trina and Lisa received many.

We are so grateful to Elisa for arranging for the exhibition to be hosted by Beth Am Israel and to the congregation of BAI and all the people from surrounding churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples that attended yesterday.

Laura Madeleine