1,406 Boxes at Lansing Church Represent People Killed by Guns - WILX

A display of 1,406 folded boxes is currently sitting inside Central United Methodist Church in Lansing, with each individual box representing a person killed by gun violence, WILX reported.

The installation, known as the Soul Box Project, serves as a visual memorial for victims across Michigan and the United States. The scale of the display is intended to transform abstract statistics into a physical presence that visitors can walk among.

No two boxes in the collection are identical because they are folded by hand by volunteers. According to church member Susan Grettenberger, the varying appearances of the boxes reflect the different ways lives are lost.

Some boxes are simple, plain folds representing individuals who remain unknown to the public. Other boxes feature specific names and dates of death to honor identified victims.

The collection includes several specific groups of victims:

Individuals lost in the Oxford and Michigan State school shootings.
A Grand Haven mother and her six children who died this past summer.
More than half of the total boxes, which represent suicide victims.

The project also functions as a space for communal grieving. Grettenberger noted that visitors often arrive carrying their own personal losses, with many people reporting they knew individuals killed by gun violence within the Lansing community.

The organizers have clarified that the project’s intent is not centered on a political movement to ban firearms. Instead, Grettenberger stated the goal is to raise awareness to find ways to keep guns away from people who are at risk.

“It’s not about banning guns. It’s about making it harder for people to use them for the wrong reasons and for reasons that harm others… That’s a lot of our neighbors, a lot of our families, people we know. There are things we can do about it,” Grettenberger said.

The display offers practical engagement for those who visit. Members of the public can create their own soul boxes and are able to take a gun lock free of charge.

The Soul Box Project will remain open to the public in Lansing during select hours through Friday, Nov. 13.