Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations Dec. 2025 Protecting Children from Gun Violence Welcome, New Readers. After the shooting at a Stockton, CA child's birthday party, this Advent Enews calls congregations to take action to protect children from gun violence. Below, find resources and training to help. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 1,155 children have been killed in the USA by gun violence so far this year. Another 3,041 were wounded physically and countless other children were wounded by trauma. The shooting in Stockton stole four lives, ages 8, 8, 14 and 21. It also reopened wounds from Stockton's experience of one of the first school shootings in 1989. According to the K-12 School Shooting Data Base, there have been 224 events where firearms were discharged at schools in 2025 so far. Lord, have mercy. Opportunities for Worship: • This Sun. Dec. 14 marks the 13th memorial of the Sandy Hook School shooting in CT, often considered the day that first mobilized congregations to take action to prevent gun violence. Let us renew that sense of calling with prayer HERE and song HERE. • On Sun. Dec. 28, the Gospel reading is Matthew 2:13-18, "The Slaughter of the Innocents." Consider a sermon HERE on protecting children from gun violence. Resources on Protecting Children from Gun Violenece:  • News HERE on connecting child gun violence to "guns in trunks" in Memphis, TN. • An action HERE of the Presbyterian General Assembly calling on each congregation to take a specific step to protect children from gun violence and a Peace Fellowship trifold brochure with practical action suggestions HERE. • Explore the partnership between Be SMART for Kids and the PCUSA HERE. New! Action Circles! Protecting Children from Gun Violence: Imagining a New World Wednesdays on Zoom Noon ET, 11 CT, 10 MT, 9 PT Bring a bag lunch or brunch! Winter 2026: Feb. 4 - March 4 Register HERE. (limited to 12 participants) Spring 2026: April 15- May 13 Register HERE. This five session series on Zoom will guide you and your congregation in finding your action calling for protecting children from gun violence. Created by educational and pastoral leaders for the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, this faith-based program covers in one hour a key topic each week: • Children in the Crossfire: How did gun violence become the top killer of our children? • Saving Child Lives with Secure Storage Programs • Seeing Our Children: The mental and spiritual health of children in the crossfire • Direct Action Options for Real Safety for Children • Advocacy, Voting and Finding Next Steps for Your Congregation There will be homework each week, about an hour of preparation for each session. Action Circles will be offered four times per year. Sign up now! Guns to Gardens Winter 2026 Action Circles Jan. 8- Feb. 12 In one hour weekly on Zoom, learn how to take direct action to reduce the number of unwanted guns to be found by children, youth, or others; used in a crisis; resold or stolen to be returned to the gun market. Learn with other congregations how to plan and offer a Guns to Gardens Safe Disposal Event for unwanted guns in your community. Every Thursday for six weeks for one hour per week, plus one hour of preparation. Register for Noon ET Daytime Circle HERE. Register for 7:30 pm ET Evening Circle HERE. Photos: On Oct. 4, Stillwater, Minnesota Guns to Gardens safely dismantled 38 firearms at First Presbyterian Church. Participant Joni Burns received her Guns to Gardens Firearm Safety Officer training in VA following the James Atwood Instiute for Congregational Courage. T-Shirts Guns to Gardens T-shirts and sweatshirts with the Guns to Gardens logo on the front and Isaiah 2:4 on the back. Order for your church volunteers for gun violence prevention events or as a gift. Order HERE Thank you to all who have given financially to support gun violence prevention. Advent is always a key season of giving for the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship. In its 81st Advent season, PPF must raise $81,000 by Dec. 31 to meet our funding needs. Please join with others to support PPF's Gun Violence Prevention Ministry. Learn more about PPF's "Advent Under the Rubble" campaign HERE. We need gifts of all amounts and support from churches, individuals and presbyteries to do this work. Gifts are tax-deductible.  Give HERE or Mail checks to: "Presbyterian Peace Fellowship" att: Gun Violence Prevention 17 Cricketown Rd. Stony Point, NY 10980 Thank you. GIVE HERE! And Finally....an Advent Prayer from Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley God with us, We are in awe of you made child --small, needy and held. We are grateful to belong to a God who dares to approach us with trust and tenderness. As we honor your birth, may the hope that has waned throughout the year be renewed; that we would know that the world is more than death and decay. This Christmastide, may we rejoice in the beauty life contains..... God, make us small, that we may be held in you once again. Amen presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence-prevention  Rev. Margery Rossi, Minister for Gun Violence Prevention margery@presbypeacefellowship.org Rev. Jan Orr-Harter, Editor & Moderator, Gun Violence Prevention Working Group gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org Presbyterian Peace Fellowship 845-786-6743 | presbypeacefellowship.org Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | 17 Cricketown Road | Stony Point, NY 10980 US