Thursday, December 2, 2021

Liturgy/Action in Solidarity with Oxford High School

Gun Violence Prevention
News for Congregations
Dec. 2021
Oxford High School Shooting
Every day that our country does not pass safer gun laws is another day that we fail our children. This tragedy didn’t have to happen. --Former Rep. Gabby Giffords

Photo: CCN.com


As we enter Advent in a year of record gun sales and gun violence, we reap the consequences of easy access to powerful guns by those who would harm others and themselves. Four children are dead in Oxford, Michigan, seven are wounded and an entire community has described itself as "broken."

Below is a liturgy for use in your church this Sunday, which could also be adapted as a pastoral prayer. You could plan a focus later in Advent around the Oxford shooting and Dec. 14, which is the ninth anniversary of the Sandy Hook School shooting.

Below the liturgy is information about Guns 2 Gardens, a new movement that the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is helping congregations to build. In the absence of federal legislation to prevent gun violence for more than a generation, can the church become a safe site for Americans to remove unwanted guns from homes and communities ---and turn them into garden tools? Inspired by the vision of Isaiah 2:4, can your church become a place of healing, peace and a light that shines in the darkness of gun violence?

Litany of Remembrance
Leader 1: Let us remember all who have been harmed by violence.
We acknowledge the strength of those who survive
 and of those struggling to heal.
For their sake and for ours, we commit ourselves
 to building each other up and to healing – together.

Leader 2: Let us remember the families and loved ones
of those who have died from gun violence.
We acknowledge their pain and their deep grief.
They too, are part of our community,
 and need our love and help towards healing.

Leader 3: Let us remember the perpetrators,
 and the families of those who commit violence.
We acknowledge that their lives, too, are devastated
 and their hopes dashed.
For their sake and for ours, we remember
 that pain goes in many directions from each act of violence.

All: We will stand up to violence.
We stand together expressing our unity,
our connection to each other and to the divine;
our hope for healing and for transformation.
Let the Spirit of our Creator move through us.
Help us to transform and heal our communities.
And let us begin by transforming ourselves. Amen.
(from Vigils Against Violence by Pat Long and Vandy Bradow)

Suggested Hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette: "God, We Have Heard It" HERE

Find more worship suggestions under "Pastoral Resources" in PPF's "Gun Violence Prevention Congregational Toolkit" HERE.
Take Action: Help Save Lives
with Guns 2 Gardens Project
Become a disarming congregation
Join us by turning our guns into garden tools. We can heed Isaiah's call to turn our swords into plowshares and help our communities process our collective grief from the violence and harm done by guns. People experience healing in prayer and relationship, and we experience healing by stepping into our own agency and taking action.

The Guns2Gardens Winter Action Circle will meet on Zoom on Jan. 13, Jan. 27 and Feb. 10 at 12:30 pm ET. This three-week commitment will prepare you and your congregation to host your first disarming event and will includes support for publicity, logistics, pastoral care for gun donors and chop saw skills. Registration is open now.
Events

National Vigil Against Gun Violence Dec. 8, 2021
Dec. 14, 2021 marks 9 years since the Sandy Hook School Shooting. On Wed. Dec. 8 at 7pm ET, nine days after the Oxford School Shooting, watch the Washington DC National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence on Facebook Live HERE. Organize your own local vigil HERE.

National Faith Leaders for Gun Safety Jan. 13-14, 2022
National Cathedral, Washington DC. For more information, contact Deanna@presbypeacefellowship.org

Looking for a Date for your Guns 2 Gardens event?
Consider...
Feb. 14, 2022 Parkland, FL High School Shooting 4th Anniversary
Feb. 20 Universal Day of Prayer for Students
March 2 Ash Wednesday or April 14 Maundy Thursday
April - Injury Prevention Month
May 6 Mothers' Day
June - National Safety Month and Gun Violence Awareness Days
PLUS....A National Guns2Gardens Safe Surrender Day in 2022, date to be announced soon.
Gun Violence Prevention Ministry
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Rev. Deanna Hollas, Coordinator
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | 17 Cricketown RoadStony Point, NY 10980

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