NEWS ADVISORY: The Ceremony of the Crosses taking place at St. Columba Church at 3 p.m. Friday, December 31, will commemorate those lost to homicide in Oakland in 2021.
Oakland, California – At 3 p.m. Friday, December 31, the St. Columba Church will hold a memorial service to commemorate the over 130 lives lost to homicide in Oakland this year. The service will be led by Fr. Aiden McAleenan and sponsored by the St. Columba Parish and Faith in Action East Bay. Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland will be in attendance as well as council members from Oakland City Council, officers from the Oakland Police Department, representatives from community service organizations, and bereaved family and friends.
For the last twelve years, St. Columba Church has commemorated Oakland’s victims of homicide by placing a cross with the victim’s name in the front garden of the church. The Ceremony of the Crosses then takes place on New Year’s Eve to remember those who have died and to remove the crosses.
All will gather in the church for prayer and comments and then proceed to the front garden for the Ceremony of the Crosses where the victims’ names will be read aloud and the crosses removed. When all the crosses have been removed, participants will proceed back into the church and lay the crosses at the foot of the altar. Family members of the deceased who have received crosses may keep them as a remembrance of their loved one.
Media representatives are invited. Proof of vaccination and masks are required to attend in person. The Ceremony of the Crosses will also be streamed on Zoom. More information, including the Zoom link: https://stcolumba-oak.com/ceremony-of-the-crosses
WHAT: Ceremony of the Crosses
WHO: FIAEB and St. Columba Parish
WHEN: Friday, December 31, at 3 PM
WHERE: St. Columba Parish, 6401 San Pablo Avenue, Oakland, CA 94608
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Faith in Action East Bay (FIAEB) is a multi-faith, multi-ethnic federation of 78 congregations, 25 schools and allied community organizations representing more than 60,000 families in the East Bay. Together, we work on issues such as education, violence prevention, immigration, housing and voter engagement.