Today we learned that a fourth child is dead of gunshot wounds in the last we know of high school shooting. The only way to make Peace with that is to change laws about guns and our ho-hum relationship to violence. Are you voting on Tuesday for someone who will listen to your wishes around safety? Are you learning what you need to know about this issue? Are you engaging people in discussions? You might want to.

And I don’t know what we do for children like Jaylen, who somehow find themselves so alienated that this looks like an option. Because that poor broken child is lost as well. His family is as devastated as the families of the other children.

And today, we remember our beloved Dead. I learned so much about Day of the Dead about commemorating the dead when I lived in the Bay Area. All over the world, people have celebrated this time as a time to remember. And yet so much of American culture is around forgetting the pain. Any of us who have ever tried that know it doesn’t work…

And why would I forget? Why would I forget people who brought joy and beauty into my life? Why would you? Re-membering, calling them back into your heart once a year is a reminder that your life has been enriched. It is a way to proudly acknowledge that your life has been blessed by these wonderful people. It is a prayer of thanksgiving. It is another way of making family and creating community. So today, on this day of all souls, I will spend time with your memories and I will give rejoice and give thanks and sigh for those things we will never do again. And it will be a worthy use of my time. It will be a splendid exercise in Peace because you are among those who taught me the beauty of relationship.