On the UUA website is a prayer written by Rev. Keith Kron that includes the following line: “I grieve for the people who died in [name of most recent shooting].” The fact that we need a prayer with a space to be filled in time and time again with shooting after shooting demands our attention, demands that we not look away, demands that we take action.

Today we will hear from Mary Helen Abel, Mississippi State Chapter Lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a non-partisan grassroots movement of American mothers demanding common-sense solutions to address our country’s dangerous culture of gun violence, which jeopardizes the safety of our children and families.

Ms. Abel grew up in Jackson, attending Murrah High School and graduating from the Education Center. In 2008, she graduated from Millsaps College with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. She is the mother to two sons, Hugh Parker, 7, and John Hudson, 5. Previously, she was a Work-At-Home Mom, working for her family business, until last year, when she took a position as the Director of Admissions for The Montessori Academy of Jackson, her boys’ school.

Topics: Personal Experience, Prophetic People, Social Justice, Theme: Attention