A group of Martha's Vineyard clergy gathered Thursday morning, Dec. 14 in Owen Park, to march and stand in vigil on the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
Twenty children and six school employees died in the shooting at the hands of a 20-year-old man who lived near the school.
The group marched silently carrying signs with Scripture verses through town to Five Corners, where about 20 other people joined the vigil. The clergy solemnly read the names of the teachers and the children who died on the morning of Dec. 14, 2012. After each group of names was read, the clergy offered a personal prayer.
“They were taken away,” said the Rev. Vincent G. (Chip) Seadale of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. “Their cherished teachers loved and protected them to the end.”
Father Seadale called for continued vigilance in the face of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
“Is it possible to try, and fail, and try again and never, ever, give up?” he asked. “Is there a chance for peace? Yes, I say. The darkness can never overcome the light.”