Click:Hyperbaric Stretcher
CORAL SPRINGS, FL — Thousands looked on Sunday night as a temporary structure called the Temple of Time was intentionally set on fire to help the Parkland area community move on from the horrific school shootings that claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty little more than a year ago at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Sunday’s event took place in nearby Coral Springs, Florida, a few miles from the school. The 35-foot-temple was opened to the public on the first anniversary of the Valentine’s Day massacre as an “object of great beauty built out of tremendous loss.”
The fire was lit by family members of those killed in the tragedy.
Erica Mohan, who graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 2010, said she was moved by the ceremony. She and friend, Katherine Burge, were among those who turned out to watch the structure burn.
“It’s tragic to know that, that happened in our town, in our high school,” she told Patch. “I think it was good for the community to get together to experience a ceremonial, traditional burning. In other cultures they do this: Native America culture, Indian culture, in Asian culture especially, you burn for your loved ones. You burn different things that represent those people.”
Artist David Best worked with victims, grieving families, community members and first responders to construct the ornate structure where thousands of hand-written messages had been placed leading up to Sunday’s closing fire.
“I came here thinking I was going to work with 17 families that had a tragedy,” he told the crowd. “I ended up working with 1,000, 2,000 people.”
Another woman who attended was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas at the time of the mass shooting.
She told Patch that she too found the ceremony uplifting, but emotional. She had difficulty expressing what she was feeling.
Click Here: collingwood magpies 2019 training guernsey
“I graduated. When it happened, I was a senior,” she explained. “I’m just trying to not talk about it.”
She was accompanied by her cousin and other relatives.
“It was heartwarming. It’s not like we’re forgetting about everything that happened because you’re obviously not going to forget about the things that happened,” observed the girl’s cousin, Osvaldo. “But, it gives a little peace.”
In similar projects with grieving parents, students and first responders, artist Best found that the burning helped people rebuild hope and release grief. Sunday’s ceremony was meant to be a cathartic experience that allowed the community to let go of difficult emotions and make room for positive feelings and loving memories, according to organizers.
The project was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Click here for more details on the project.
Best asked everyone who attended Sunday’s event to check in on their loved ones.
“I don’t want this community, or our world, to have any more suicides,” Best said. “Let’s watch out for one another. Ask your son. Ask your brother ‘Are you OK? If they say ‘yeah,’ double check. Don’t take anybody’s word for it. Please check one another. This is a community that went through hell.”