Rachel’s Day: Honoring Our Children, Confronting Violence
Each year on the first Sunday in May, congregations across the ELCA are encouraged to observe Rachel’s Day—a time to mourn the loss of children to violence and to renew our commitment to act against the forces of fear and evil that plague our communities.
Rachel’s Day was born from a single act of faith: in 1994, a woman at Bethel Lutheran Church on the west side of Chicago urged her congregation to support children facing violence. Together they transformed a vacant lot into Rachel’s Garden, a place where mothers could gather to mourn children killed by gun violence. In 1996, the Women of the ELCA, through their triennial convention, broadened this movement, calling on all congregations to recognize Rachel’s Day each year, based on the words of Jeremiah 31:15–17:
“Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted… there is hope for your future, says the Lord.”
This year, we encourage your congregation to recognize Rachel’s Day on Sunday, May 5, 2025. New Rachel’s Day resources are available for download, including a worship guide and a Litany of Determined Resolve:
Through prayer, public witness, and determined resolve, we follow Christ’s call to stand alongside those who mourn—and to work for a future where every child can flourish.
You can also explore more about ways to combat gun violence:
“Take the first step,” Gather magazine, April 2024
“The Rachel’s Day Resource to end gun violence,” by Valora Starr, Women of the ELCA blog, April 2017
As people of faith, we refuse to be silent in the face of loss. This Rachel’s Day, may we lift our voices, strengthen our resolve, and declare: there is hope for our future.
