For Broadcast: July 28, 2008

Contact: Cam Pierce, 377-1669, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
             Jeff Stevens, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In response to the events at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, Rev. Meredith Garmon, PhD, and Rev. LoraKim Joyner, DVM, will lead a “Prayer and Sharing Service” on Monday, July 28th, starting at 7:00 pm, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville at 4225 N.W. 34th Street. The event is open to the public. Depending on the size of the service, the event might be moved outdoors.

The following is a brief statement from the ministers on the shootings:

We are saddened and shocked by the shootings Sunday morning at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Deadly violence against a church appalls all people of faith. As time goes by, we will let you know what you can do, or what this congregation might do for the members of this Knoxville congregation. In the meantime, let us gather to care for one another. The two of us will lead a service at 7:00 PM on Monday evening (July 28). It’s a time to grieve together, to seek meaning and solace together. It's a chance to express your feelings about this awful tragedy, to hear what others say: a time to hold and be held in this community of care, memory, and hope.

In faith,
Rev. Meredith Garmon, PhD, & Rev. LoraKim Joyner, DVM
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville