Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations

 

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations March 2026 Welcome, New Readers Atwood Institute 2026 Registration is Open! Coming to the Heartland Sept. 15-18 Come learn with other congregations how to build and sustain a gun violence prevention ministry in your faith community. The 3rd Annual James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage will be Sept. 15-18, 2026 near at the Heartland Center near Kansas City, MO Space is limited. Learn more and reserve your space today. Scholarships are available. Click HERE to learn more. Keynote Speaker Jer Swigart, coauthor of Mending the Divides, will challenge us to deepen our theological calling for gun violence prevention. As you build relationships with other faith activists from across the nation, expect to learn practical, pastoral and prophetic skills for guiding your congregation in the task of saving lives and healing the trauma and fear brought by 38,000 lives stolen by gun violence last year. Gun Violence Prevention is a No Kings issue. The Trump administration has now dismantled life-saving research, programs and funding from the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was the first gun safety action by Congress in over a generation. Learn about No Kings rallies this Saturday March 28. Click HERE. SPRING TRAINING! Guns to Gardens Spring Action Circles April 16 - May 21 Sign up now to learn with other congregations how to offer a Guns to Gardens Safe Disposal Event for unwanted guns in your community. Learn how congregations are taking this responsible 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. Each Thursday on Zoom for 6 weeks for 1 hour, plus 1 hour of preparation. Register for Noon ET Daytime Circle HERE. 11amCT, 10MT, 9PT Register for 7:30 pm ET Evening Circle HERE. 6:30pmCT, 5:30MT, 4:30PT NEW! Training for Firearm Safety Officers for Guns to Gardens Our Guns to Gardens partner RAW Tools now offers training and certification for Firearm Safety Officers (FSO), which is a role required for each Guns to Gardens event. Some of the training is online and some is in person. Learn more by contacting Stan Wilson at Stan@rawtools.org  New Action Circles for 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! Spring: April 15- May 13 Register HERE. This five session series on Zoom will guide you and your congregation in finding your action for protecting children from gun violence. Created by educational and pastoral leaders in the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, this faith-based program covers in one hour a key topic each week: • Children in the Crossfire: Why is gun violence the top killer of our children? • Saving Child Lives with Secure Gun Storage • 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 "At the first session when we learned about the causes of gun violence against children, I was so discouraged. By the final session, I was incredibly hopeful about all the practical things that we can do to protect children from gun violence." --Participant in the Winter Action Circle 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. To do this work, we need gifts of all amounts. We welcome support from churches, individuals, and regional/national church bodies, as well as other groups. 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! 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