At a service commemorating the victims of last week’s elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Elmhurst College President S. Alan Ray urged members of the campus community to “take action, in our own ways,” to try to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.

Faculty and staff members of the College gathered in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, December 18, to pray, reflect and light candles for the victims of the December 14 mass shooting in which 20 young children and seven adults were brutally slain.

The service was an opportunity “to open our hearts to a broken world, to recognize the families that have lost beloved children, and to recognize a college that stands in solidarity with those families,” said the College’s chaplain, the Reverend H. Scott Matheney.

President Ray urged audience members to sign petitions and express their views to government leaders on issues related to the tragedy, including gun control and mental health policy.

Contacting Government Leaders

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and state legislators, as well as U.S. Congressional representatives, can be reached through the Illinois State Board of Elections.

President Obama can be reached through the White House website.