T-shirts emblazoned with the names of local victims of fatal gun violence encircled a cross at Union Presbyterian Seminary on a recent afternoon.
The T-shirts, placed on the ground at the base of the cross, called attention to a problem that is all too common, not only in Mecklenburg County but the nation as a whole.
With every event of gun violence, does the Spirit tug at you to do something? Yet what? And how? And do I have the courage and skill to do it? Or… I’ve been working on this — how do I become more effective?
As the nation reels from mass shootings, local Presbyterians have joined with other faith communities to mark Gun Violence Prevention Month by “Wear Orange” events and Guns to Gardens safe surrender days, most held in church parking lots. The June gun violence prevention activities will culminate in Salt Lake City on Sunday with a Guns to Gardens demonstration as the PC(U.S.A.) gathers for its 226th General Assembly.
Near the end of a recent Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) webinar, Tracie Campbell made an impassioned plea for people of faith to “do something” to curtail gun violence in this country.
The Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett, president and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, offers us this homily she delivered via Zoom Wednesday as part of the PMA’s Chapel Service. Click on the link above to view Moffett’s 15-minute homily.
Gun violence prevention can be woven into various aspects of church life, from worship and pastoral care to Bible study and youth groups. But the potentially divisive topic warrants some preparation, thought and sensitive handling, according to experts featured in the latest webinar in the “Standing Our Holy Ground” series.
The pastor glumly ordered a salad with dressing on the side. Her lunch companion wondered whether her friend would rather have had a greasy hamburger instead. The pastor’s sour mood, though, wasn’t about healthy food choices. It was about the choice her session had made to lock the doors during Sunday morning worship.
