I hear ya Ant. but I think we need to just focus on the "victims of $tr8 memorial service" right now, which is becoming tricky enough on it's own.
Fairfax county is thus far unwilling to accomodate our request to gather after sunset in any of its' public parks and a candlelight vigil before dark just aint gonna cut it. We're running out of options as far as the location goes. I understand that some folks don't wanta come to the building but unless someone in the local area volunteers to have it on their private property then the building is our only option. We are still open to suggestions but the time is starting to get a little tight.
The other point I want to make is that the Jews hold memorial services at the former concentration camps(and even have a museum at one that I know of) because that is where the tradgedy occurred, same with the Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor, and the Oklahoma city bombing. Nothing focuses the spirit like the site of a tradgedy. Nothing would bring it home or make it more real(all too real for some, I understand) than to hold the service in the former parking lot of the building. Of course, even in the other examples I gave, not everyone can handle the emotions that may arise from being at the scene of such tradgedies. There are probably many survivors of those events who do not attend memorials at those sites.
We are trying as best we can to accomodate all the surviors who want to attend the service, which is why we have been trying to find some other site besides the building, but so far our search hasn't panned out.
In addition to finding an appropriate site for the memorial we are still looking for a place to throw the after-party/wake. If you have any ideas or suggestions or would like to host either or both please let us know.
respectfully, pirate.