A prayer service is planned for next Tuesday to honor those affected by the mass shooting in Lewiston in October last year. 

The heads of seven denominations in Maine — along with representatives from three other faith traditions and an ASL interpreter — will lead a multifaith prayer service outside the State House in Augusta on Oct. 1 to mark the beginning of the month in which Maine will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in Lewiston, according to the Maine Council of Churches. 

The public is invited to attend and participate in a time of solemn remembrance that will also include expressions of steadfast hope. 

Bishop Thomas Brown, Episcopal Diocese of Maine; Bishop James Thomas Ruggieri, Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland; and Rev. Dr. Marisa Laviola, Conference Minister for the United Church of Christ in Maine, will be among those leading the service. 

Hosted by the Maine Conference of the United Church of Christ, the Maine Council of Churches and Multifaith Justice Maine, the hourlong event will include a reading of the names of those who lost their lives in the Oct. 25, 2023, shootings and of those who were injured, as well as songs, litanies, prayers and a time for silent reflection. 

“The title of this service is ‘We remember, we grieve, we heal…together,’” said Laviola of the UCC in Maine. “The words ‘we’ and ‘together’ are essential because in the aftermath of a tragedy like the mass shooting, we find comfort, strength, courage and hope by coming together. Having ten different faith traditions represented in the prayer leaders is a powerful display of unity at a time when so much in our world seeks to drive us apart.” 

“The seven mainline Protestant denominations who make up the Maine Council of Churches are honored to join with our siblings from other faith traditions as, together, we share our grief and offer comfort and healing to Mainers of every faith and of no faith at all,” said Rev. Jane Field, executive director of Maine Council of Churches. “That’s who we are here in Maine, and that’s what we do.” 

“We at Multifaith Justice Maine are all about working collectively across the lines of diverse spiritual and religious beliefs, so co-hosting this prayer service was a natural way for us to serve the community as it continues to heal from the horrific tragedy last October,” said Rev. Dr. Jodi Hayashida, director.   

The service will conclude with an invitation to join in singing “We Shall Overcome,” an anthem that acknowledges grief and pain even as it proclaims hope that “we shall overcome someday.”