Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations June 2026 Welcome, New Readers Thank you to all for your witness in Gun Violence Prevention Month. Photo: On June 5, members of Englewood Presbyterian and Central Presbyterian in Denver offer hope at the Columbine Shooting Memorial. Send more photos HERE. Photo: Healing Not Harm: Walk for Gun Violence Prevention at the Presbyterian General Assembly in Milwaukee today, June 27. The rally speakers, left to right: Frank Cimorelli and Debra Gillespie, both of whom lost children to gun violence; Jeannine Oaks Daughtry of North Shore Presbyterian Church; Ann Gibbs of the Presbytery of Milwaukee; Andrew Peterson, Peacemaking Representative in the Office of Public Witness; PPF's own Margery Rossi, Minister for Gun Violence Prevention; and Jimmie Hawkins, PC(USA) Director of Advocacy. See more photo's below from this morning's Guns to Gardens demo. Find hot off the press media report HERE. Learn More Here. Concerned about gun violence? Not sure where to start? Want to deepen your skills? Sign up now for the Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage Sept. 15-18, 2026 Cultivating Your Community to Prevent Gun Violence Kansas City, Heartland Center New Media story HERE. New Video HERE. This ecumenical gathering equips lay and clergy leaders from many denominations with practical, pastoral and prophetic skills for saving lives, healing trauma, and turning the tide away from 38,000 lives stolen by gun violence last year. Space is limited. Reserve your space today. Scholarships are available. Keynote Speaker Jer Swigart, coauthor of Mending the Divides, will challenge us to deepen our theological calling for gun violence prevention. Director of Public Health in Kansas CIty, Dr. Marvia Jones, will show how a community-wide and public health approach is turning around gun violence in the heartland. SUMMER TRAINING! Guns to Gardens Spring Action Circles July 9 - Aug. 13 Sign up now to learn with other congregations how to offer a Guns to Gardens Safe Disposal Event for unwanted guns in your community. Each Thursday on Zoom for 6 weeks for 1 hour, plus 1 hour of preparation. Two options: Noon ET Daytime Circle or Eve 7:30pm ET 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. Learn more/register HERE. NEW! Training for Firearm Safety Officers for Guns to Gardens July 22-23 Colorado Springs, CO Sept. 18-19 Kansas City area, following the Atwood Institute 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, at the dates above. Who in your church might want to do this training? Learn more by contacting Stan Wilson at Stan@rawtools.org New Action Circles for Protecting Children from Gun Violence: Imagining a New World July 8 - Aug. 5 Wednesdays on Zoom, 1 Hour Noon ET, 11 CT, 10 MT, 9 PT Bring a bag lunch or brunch! 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 Action Circle Photos: Presbyterians today in Milwaukee, a Community Day walk for gun violence prevention. Jeff Wild, retired Lutheran pastor, demonstrates how Guns to Gardens offers safe disposal for unwanted guns, turning them into garden tools and art. PPF's Margery Rossi and Scott Marrese-Wheeler, from the Wisconsin Council of Churches, both wearing orange stoles, calling for the protection of children from gun violence. Photo: Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, PC(USA) Director of Advocacy, with Margery Rossi. The Presbyterian Outlook Foundation has honored Rev. Hawkins with the Ernest Trice Thompson Award. Congratulations! 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

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