VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 2/28/13)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) encourages American Baptist churches to be among the places of worship across the United States to host special services and discussions during “Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath Weekend” March 15-17.
Organized by Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence and including participation by Washington National Cathedral and PICO National Network, the event seeks not only to remember those who have lost their lives to gunfire but also to promote collaboration among faith communities to reduce gun violence.
Visit the Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence website to register your church to participate or to email a flier and personal note that encourages participation.
Churches that register will receive the following:
- sample sermons, social media posts and media tips;
- ideas to make the event more powerful;
- suggestions for messages to use in the service; and
- a customizable version of the national flier.
Call-in Day Successful
On Interfaith Call-in Day to Prevent Gun Violence on Feb. 4, the Senate received more than 10,000 telephone calls from individuals of faith who lifted their voices to support gun control and to encourage Congress to address America’s culture of violence.
Participants ranged from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Churches to Latino Evangelicals and Jewish denominations. Members of various faith communities called Congress to say that gun violence prevention laws work, and that they support the following: requiring universal background checks for all gun purchases; banning semi-automatic assault weapons and high-capacity magazines; making gun trafficking a federal crime; and improving access to mental health care services.
Formed in 2011, Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence is a diverse coalition of denominations and faith-based organizations united by the call of faith to confront America’s gun violence epidemic and to rally support for policies that reduce death and injury from gunfire. ABHMS is a member of Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence.
ABHMS—the domestic mission arm of American Baptist Churches USA—ministers as the caring heart and serving hands of Jesus Christ across the United States and Puerto Rico through a multitude of initiatives that focus on discipleship, community and justice.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.