Medfield holds Vigil in Honor of Justice Ginsberg

Medfield joins the Nation by hosting a Vigil In Memory of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg

On Sunday evening, September 20th, members of the Medfield Democratic Town Committee held a Vigil honoring the life and service of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg who died at her home in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 2020, at the age of 87, from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer.

RBG as she was often referred to was a cultural, legal and feminist icon known to be a "tireless champion of justice". She served 27 years on the Supreme Court having been nominated by President Bill Clinton.

This candlelight ceremony consisted of music and readings to honor the Supreme Court Justice and was held on the front lawn of the Medfield Town House....

Invited guest, Representative, Denise Garlick spoke these words, "Thank you for the opportunity to join with you as we honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was our Nation's leading voice for gender equality, women's rights and interests, the rights of individuals with disabilities , civil rights and liberties......Thank you for the opportunity to join with you as together we will find the strength and resolve, in our solemn duty to preserve the rights and liberties of all individuals, And like, Ruth, to advocate and accomplish all that we can- and dissent when we must...Our country needed Ruth Bader Ginsburg and now we need one another. I would like to share the words of George Odell with you..."

Garlick then read a poem by George Odell titled "We Need One Another".

We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted…when we are in trouble and afraid when we despair, in temptation, and need to be recalled to our best selves again.

We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose, and cannot do it alone…in the hour of our successes, when we look for someone to share our triumphs [and] in the hour of our defeat when with encouragement we might endure and stand again.

We need one another when we come to die, and would have gentle hands prepare us for the journey. All our lives we are in need, and others are in need of us.

Next, Becca Kornet read a "Jewish Prayer of Remembrance".

In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember her.

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we remember her.

In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring, we remember her.

In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer, we remember her.

In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn, we remember her.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends, we remember her.

When we are weary and in need of strength, we remember her.

When we are lost and sick at heart, we remember her.

When we have joys we yearn to share, we remember her.

So long as we live, she too shall live, for she is now a part of us,

as we remember her.

Next, David Stephenson read a poem by Maya Angelou, "When Great Trees Fall"

When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shutter, lions hunker down, in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety.

When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile.

We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity. Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid, promised walks never taken.

Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, take leave of us. Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened. Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away.

We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance of dark, cold caves.

And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us.

They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.

In conclusion, the song "Hallelujah" by Pentatonix was played.