A diverse coalition of faith groups has come together to oppose gun violence in the U.S. Faiths United, which MCC and the Global Justice Institute have endorsed, is inviting congregations, houses of worship, and people of faith to participate in the annual Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend (Thursday – Sunday, December 11-14, 2014). The timing coincides with the anniversary of the elementary school shootings in Newtown,
Connecticut. Sponsors hope to double participating from the previous Sabbath’s 1,000 places of worship. The weekend will start with a special December 11 event in the nation’s capital hosted by theWashington National Cathedral. It will include an interfaith service honoringthose whose lives were lost to gunfire, special prayers for their families, and training sessions to help community leaders implement strategies to reduce gun violence.
The Public Policy Team encourages MCC congregations to take Faiths United’s Pledge Against Gun Violence and to sign up to host a local gun violence prevention event during this special weekend.
To aid you in these and other efforts, Faiths United is providing the following resources:
- Use sample liturgies, prayers, sermons, and music. You can look at pictures of what earlier organizers hosted here.
- Guides on how to initiate congregation-level conversations around ending gun violence.
- A guide to how your U.S. Senators voted on the 2013 background check/anti-gun violence bill so you can keep up the pressure in 2015.
- Facts about the damage gun violence causes around the nation, provided by the Brady Campaign.
- Information on a major initiative by Mayors Against Illegal Guns to tell the truth about how background checks work.
- You can follow Faiths United on Facebook and Twitter.
Through faith, we find the inspiration to be the blessed peacemakers the world so desperately needs.
For more information, contact the Public Policy Team at [email protected].