Senate hearings prompt Atlanta church service for sex assault victims

A worship service for people affected by sexual assault will be held at All Saints' Episcopal Church on Thursday.

The Service of Lament and Remembrance is a response to last week's U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, the church said in a release. The Sept. 27 hearings involved Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who says he sexually assaulted her.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the third day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill September 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The service will offer "a shared space for those who have been particularly affected in a personal way by the events of the last week in Washington," All Saints' rector Dr. Simon Mainwaring said in a statement.

All are welcome at the service regardless of belief. The church's associate rector, Rev. Kim Jackson, is working with clergy at a co-sponsor of the service — St. Luke's Episcopal Church — to provide ongoing support to victims of sexual abuse and violence.

All Saints' Episcopal Church is located at 634 W. Peachtree St. NW.