Just over a month ago, the state of Tennessee murdered Sedley Alley to show that the murder of Suzanne Marie Collins, some twenty years before, had been wrong. The state's return to executions wounded many of us, as our tax dollars, and our tacit approval (as citizens of Tennessee) made the execution possible. And so, last Friday, on the one month anniversary of Alley's execution, we held a community healing service on the grounds of Holy Name Catholic Church (where the TCASK office is located). We came together, sang songs, read prayers, and shared our own experiences and emotions since the event.

We also planted a survivor tree, a sapling grown from the seed of the tree outside the Federal Building in Oklahoma City that survived the bombing in 1994. The Oklahoma tree was blown sideways and lost many of its limbs to the blast, but survived and still stands as a tribute to life. Our tree is planted in that same spirit, in the wake of tragedy, recognizing our commitment to the power of love, reconciliation, and life over death.

The first reading shared on Friday was an excerpt of Bud Welch (whose daughter Julie was killed in the Oklahoma City bombing and who now speaks out nationally against the death penalty). We also heard the words of Pope John Paul II, the Koran, Mahatma Ghandi, and a number of other leaders and faith traditions. The words of Ghandi spoke to me very powerfully: