The interfaith service is an opportunity to mourn those who have paid the ultimate price for the country’s failure to end homelessness. Religious representatives from Islamic, Jewish, Baha’i, and Christian faiths will share a sacred text or prayer from their tradition and names of each known homeless individual who has died in Massachusetts during the year will be read aloud. In a tangible remembrance of the deceased individuals, handmade tombstones for each will line the sanctuary of the Church on the Hill.

“Homeless people in Massachusetts have a mortality rate that is almost four times that of the general population, and the homeless are dying at a much younger age - on average in their late forties. These deaths must motivate us to end their struggle to survive on the streets by providing permanent, life-sustaining housing” says Dr. Jessie M. Gaeta, M.D., of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance and Boston Health Care for the Homeless.

"Every religion holds in common a belief in the worth and dignity of persons. When our vulnerable brothers and sisters are dying on the streets from exposure or from illnesses exacerbated from homelessness, it is apparent that we are failing as a community. We have a moral imperative not only to remember and honor our homeless brothers and sisters who have died such an untimely death, but also a sacred duty to better provide for the needs of the living” stated the Reverend G. Steven Ellis, Pastor, Church on the Hill (Swedenborgian).