Faith Presbyterian Church honors COVID-19 victims with memorial

Nearly 30,000 Hoosiers are estimated to have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. To honor these victims and their families, Faith Presbyterian Church is creating a memorial to be unveiled in 2025. A computer-generated image of the COVID-19 memorial by artist Rebecca Shipman. (Photo provided/Faith Presbyterian Church) Pastor Charlotte Lohrenz and outreach team member Kristie Nave are in the process of gathering names for the memorial. The nine-foot structure will be a mosaic of tiles inscribed with personal memorials of the victims. While the memorial will be featured inside the church, Lohrenz maintains that anyone, regardless of church affiliation, is welcome to submit names or come view the memorial. It is free to participate. The inspiration for the memorial is drawn from the assessment Faith made from their congregation and community about the effect of the pandemic. “It was a global event and we thought about what would be helpful, and we thought it would be worthwhile to help collect the names of those who have dies to recognize the loss that people had. This is a collective trauma we had all been in together,” Lohrenz said. The foundation for the memorial was built upon permanence, Lohrenz...