Join us as we remember our friends from the downtown community who died during the past year. Each year during Holy Week, Operation Nightwatch holds a memorial service to honor their memory and celebrate their lives. The service will be in the Downtown Chapel, Sixth and Burnside, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4.
If you know of people in our community who died this past year, please add their names to the list of folks we will honor and remember. You can e-mail them to NightwatchNames@aol.com, or drop them off at Julia West House, 522 SW 13th, in downtown Portland. We no longer get any information from organizations, because of privacy rules, so we rely on other people to give us names that need to be included.
Dorothy Ackerman takes part in the service each year, reading the list of names.
“Traditionally for Indian people, we cherish the spirit for a whole year, then let them go with prayers and songs and drumming and a feast,” says Ackerman. “This memorial ceremony is like that...we’re celebrating the lives of our friends who have passed over to the other side.”
There is a time for people in the audience to offer remembrances of their friends. Then Dorothy reads the names, and a candle is lit as each name is read.
Before the reading of the names, there is a Native American prayer, a Jewish reading, a Buddhist prayer, a scripture reading from the Ku’ran, a reading of the Beatitudes from the New Testament, and a reading by a poet from the community. And, there is music and singing together throughout the service.
This year, Kate Power and Steve Einhorn will again bring wonderful music and songs to the celebration. Kate and Steve take part because, “This service is one place once a year where we can come together to honor the lives and struggles of these people. It’s difficult to put into words how moving this experience is. We are grateful to have the chance to honor their lives and their passing on by singing together in the chapel with dignity and respect as a community.”
Gary Vaughan started the memorial service more than 20 years ago. Gary was the head of Operation Nightwatch for many years.
“It seemed to me that people on the street, they had a life and community, but when they died, they died alone,” Gary says. “The papers carry obituaries for many people who died, talk about their family, their lives. But most people who die on the street die anonymously. It seemed important to have a memorial service for people who had died, but left friends who didn’t have a chance to gather and remember.
“We wanted to make sure the focus was on participation. The people who come aren’t here just to be an audience,” Gary says. “This service was not meant to be a political statement, but rather a time of community remembering.”
The service remains true to Gary’s original thoughts. All the people in the chapel are encouraged to sing along with Kate and Steve, and offer silent or spoken tributes and memories of friends. The service begins and ends with song. Singing “Amazing Grace! How Sweet the Sound” closes the service. The singing is quiet but powerful. After the sound of the last verse floats softly over the room, the almost silent crowd leaves the Downtown Chapel.
Operation Nightwatch, the group that holds the service, is a faith-based, non-profit organization located at Julia West House. It is not a part of any church, but receives donations from churches, individuals, and some businesses. Operation Nightwatch is volunteer-based except for the director, Debbie Coppenger. She works with a group of more than 50 volunteers to offer night-time hospitality services, a D&A support group, recreational outings and retreats, and foot-care clinics. Those activities take place weekly or monthly, and are ongoing. But once a year, we stop to remember and reflect.
“The Memorial Service is a deep, moving experience that leaves me feeling changed,” Debbie says. “How precious all lives are — everyone, all of us. Our brief time together in the chapel is a moving celebration of the lives of those who often felt forgotten by others. This life celebration recognizes those individuals and their value.
Join us in this celebration and remembrance on April 4. Let us remember our friends who are no longer here. As we leave this quiet time of reflecting, let us renew our pledge to work for change so our sisters and brothers can live without the struggles and barriers that exist today.
