Swarthmore Presbyterian Church hosts powerful event

Last night Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, where the portraits now hang, held a reception for the public. Sarah Cooper Searight, Associate Pastor of the church worked hard to get the invitation out to the surrounding communities. In attendance were Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, Delco Chief Deputy District Attorney Tanner Rouse, Mayor of Swarthmore Marty Spiegel, Deputy Mayor of Chester William Morgan, several community leaders from Chester. and US Congress Representative Mary Gay Scanlon. Several artists were in attendance as well as several family members. During the evening the attendees heard about the origins and goals of the project, listened to an inspirational talk from Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence’s Bob Fles, and an address by Mayor Spiegel.

What many there will no doubt remember most from the evening were the riveting words from Lisa Harmon, mother of “Fresh, Alan Christopher Gray, whose portrait was made by Elisa Abeloff for this exhibition. She was joined by Sonya Dixon, whose grandson “Chip”, Kenyon Lakei Allford,Jr., is also in the current exhibition. They are impassioned in their quest to reduce gun violence. Sonya pointed out how the opiod crisis and even the vaping “crisis” get more attention from lawmakers mostly because it is more visible in their backyards. Meanwhile, 13 and 14 year olds are given access to guns in some neighborhoods.

We urge all who experience these portraits to seek out a way to make your voice heard. This is a complicated issue but one that demands attention from our lawmakers and we need to be a steady, constant voice for these souls no longer able to speak for themselves.