Gun Violence Prevention
News for Congregations July 2020
Contents:
Jim Atwood: Giant of Gun Violence Prevention İ Presente!
Voting & Gun Violence Prevention Part 1
New Resources: Video on Chicago Churches, New Curriculum
Local Spotlight: Riviera Presbyterian Church, Coral Gables, FL
"The right to vote is almost sacred. It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy." Rep. John Lewis, İ Presente!
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Jim Atwood, the buoyant and beloved Presbyterian prophet of gun violence prevention, died from Covid-19 on June 26. A Celebration of Life will be live-streamed on Sat. July 25, with music beginning at 10:45 AM ET, 9:45 AM CT at St. Andrew's-Covenant Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, NC for all who wish to participate.
Deanna Hollas, PPF Coordinator of Gun Violence Prevention, described Jim as "a giant of the gun violence prevention movement" and called on all of us "to finish the work that he started."
The church's YouTube link for the service is HERE.
The bulletin for the service is HERE.
Read our Tribute to Jim Atwood and learn about his books HERE.
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VOTING & GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION
What Can Churches Really Do?
Part One
We Can Strengthen Voter Access
1. Preventing Voter Suppression: The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness offers We Shall Not be Moved, a discussion guide and resource on preventing voter suppression HERE. Action idea: Look at the resources and suggested reading to learn more about the history of racist voter suppression, Presbyterians and civil rights.
2. COVID-19 and the Election: See a non-partisan report on Voting in a Time of National Emergency HERE, including details on mail-in voting and other health protections in the National Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 recently filed in Congress. Action idea: Urge your officials to support this Act. See HERE.
3. Voter Registration: "How-To" Voter Registration Kit for your state at Vote for Our Lives, a project of March for Our Lives HERE. Action idea: Get the kit now for socially-distant and on-line registration ideas. See photo below of Chicago Presbyterians registering voters with phones and QR Code Voter Registration t-shirts in 2018.
Learn more about what churches can and cannot do during election years HERE.
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New Resources:
1. New GVP Curriculum
for small groups using Zoom or in person will be ready this fall for churches that want to pilot the series. View this Teach-In to learn about the 6 session "Courageous Conversations" process HERE.
2. Short video on the 2 amazing Chicago Peaceseeker Award congregations and their ministries of gun violence prevention. See what they are up to! Click the video or watch on YouTube HERE.
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LOCAL SPOTLIGHT:
Riviera Presbyterian Church,
Coral Gables, Miami, FL
"We see voting as a way to effect change. It's not enough just to talk and pray about an issue," says Barbara Overton, Co-Chair of the Mission Committee of Riviera Presbyterian Church, located 30 minutes from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. The 75 year old congregation has had a long ministry of voter access and voter education, without crossing the line into partisan politics. Barbara is also the Vice President of the non-partisan League of Women Voters in Dade County, often a hotspot for national elections. Some of their projects include:
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1. The Riviera building serves the community as a precinct voting location that is visible and easy to find. Contact your county supervisor of elections if your church can host the voting process.
2. With social media, their church newsletter and bulletins, and through the communication network of the Presbytery of Tropical Florida, they encourage citizens to sign up for mail-in ballots and on-line registration, especially during a pandemic. They also educate on other ways to vote safely, such as early voting. "We like early voting the best," says Barbara. "There are ways to vote safely even if you don't have a mail-in ballot."
3. Again, using all of their communication channels to the congregation, the community and to mission partners such as the child care center in the church building, they promote voter education by sharing the League of Women Voters website www.vote411.org This nationwide site provides voting and registration deadlines and procedures for each state, as well as local Voter Guides that contain the answers from each candidate on a set of questions, including questions about gun violence prevention. The church will often post the direct responses from candidates on particular issues of concern to the church, but always with a presentation of all candidates equally.
4. The pastor of this "Matthew 25" congregation regularly preaches and teaches on the importance of voting.
5. Perhaps the largest project is hosting Candidate Forums to allow voters to hear directly from candidates, with a focus on key issues such as gun violence. "We are working now," says Barbara, "to figure out how to do a virtual forum." Hosting a forum involves the congregation in several steps: reaching out early to candidates to schedule the forum and to share the ground rules of the forum. At least two candidates must agree to participate. All candidates have two minutes at the beginning and at the end to present their views. A moderator is selected, often a person from the local media, to ask questions. The questions are gathered in advance from people who pre-register for the forum or through social media. Sometimes the moderator adds questions. A live forum is usually about one hour, but an on-line version will be shorter and will need a technical person to help set it up. A key task is publicity to invite voters to the forum.
Photo below: Past Candidate Forum in the sanctuary.
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Does this ministry have an impact? "Yes," says Barbara. "We see many individual church members on their own Facebook pages sharing about voting by mail and getting out the vote. This makes a difference in our church engagement with voting. We have a big job to do because getting out the vote is going to be very hard this time."
If your church has experience or projects to share about voter access and education, especially about virtual efforts, please contact gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org
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Gun Violence Prevention Ministry
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Rev. Deanna Hollas, Coordinator
214-702-2265
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