In the wake of dramatic increases in gun violence nationwide, the Church of the Brethren is taking a strong stance on gun violence this week. The church’s Gun Violence Prevention Action Team supported by the denominational agency On Earth Peace is leading a public witness and vigil on Saturday, July 6, at 4:45 p.m. at Rosa Parks Circle .
The Church of the Brethren Gun Violence Prevention Action Team is seeking congregational ambassadors. At an organizing meeting on March 2, the group introduced a new path for individuals feeling a call to help their congregations take action on gun violence prevention.
Northern Plains District of the Church of the Brethren is requesting prayer in the wake of the shooting at Perry High School in Iowa on Thursday morning, Jan. 4. At least two members of the district worked at the school or on the campus that the high school shares with Perry Middle School, and they have survived the shooting unharmed physically. Other district members teach at the elementary level in the Perry school district or have worked in the district in various capacities. Other families in the district have children in the Perry schools or are related to students.
On Oct. 28, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) deployed a team of five Critical Response Childcare volunteers to Lewiston, Maine, in partnership with the Red Cross. This deployment was made in response to the mass shootings at two locations in Lewiston in which 18 people were killed and 13 others were injured.
The Brethren Faith in Action Fund (BFIA) has aided eight Church of the Brethren congregations with its latest round of grants, including a grant of $5,000 for a Gun Buy Back Program of Spirit of Peace Church in partnership with a local municipal program administered by the state police. The fund provides grants using money generated by the sale of the upper campus of the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md.
Sponsored by the Virlina District’s Peace Affairs Committee, the walk was a new addition to the district calendar, designed as an intentional response to both rising incidents of gun violence in the city of Roanoke, Va., and recent efforts to understand and reverse the impacts of racism in the city.
In recognition of the International Day of Peace, Mountville (Pa.) Church of the Brethren shared in a worship service and public vigil to raise awareness of the magnitude of the national tragedy of gun violence.
A group of about 100 people gathered behind an orange banner stating, “We can end gun violence,” and walked to city hall
A new Church of the Brethren Gun Violence Prevention Action Team launched in January 2023, with the purpose of encouraging the Church of the Brethren to be faithful as an effective force for reducing gun violence in our neighborhoods and wherever it occurs. On Earth Peace is convening this action team as part of a broader campaign to activate advocates for gun violence prevention.
Tom Mauser of Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in Littleton, Colo., in mid-July was one of those invited to attend President Biden’s celebration of the signing of the first gun reform bill in nearly 30 years.
