New Gun Violence Survivor Resources

Gun Violence Prevention News for Congregations Dec. 2023 Tribute to Rev. Deanna Hollas Guns to Gardens, Louisville, KY November 2023 Photo: Lavonne Fingerson Advent Action: Final Week! Everyone, Please ACT NOW on Background Checks by Dec. 7 Before Dec. 7, please take 5 minutes to comment positively on new proposed rules to expand background checks on gun sales. Tens of thousands of comments are coming in. This new rule needs overwhelming public support. Your action can help save lives by closing the online and gun show loopholes, moving us closer to comprehensive background checks. Please Contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to show support for the proposed rules HERE. See Sample Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Comment Submitted HERE. Thank you!  New Resources for Congregations Gun Violence Survivor Katie Woodall shares her story of surviving the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas and her experience at a Guns to Gardens event at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, AZ. Find her story HERE and share it in your church newsletter or as a sermon or Adult Education resource. Find a Litany for Worship with Katie's Witness HERE. Special thanks to Katie Woodall for her courage in sharing her story and her call to action. Photo: Everytown Support Fund Dec 9-10 Days of Honoring Gun Violence Survivors With the beginning of Advent and the remembering of the Sandy Hook school shooting on Dec. 14, PPF encourages you to support, pray for and involve gun violence survivors and their families in prayer and action events. If your congregation is planning a Guns to Gardens event in December, please let us know HERE. Presbyterian Decade to End Gun Violence News Grants: The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program invites your church, presbytery or community to apply for a grant of up to $2,000 to support gun violence prevention actions. Be sure to be specific about your action idea. Learn more and apply for grants HERE. Next Guns to Gardens Action Circles Jan. 11- Feb. 8 Register Now HERE for Noon ET Or HERE for 7:30 pm ET Learn more about Guns to Gardens HERE. PPF Thanks Deanna Hollas Many of you have been encouraged and helped in your work for gun violence prevention by Rev. Deanna Hollas, the amazing Coordinator of the Gun Violence Prevention Ministry of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship since 2018. As of Dec. 15, Deanna is completing her current work with PPF to be present for medical needs in her family. You can reach her with a message of appreciation until then at deanna@presbypeacefellowship.org Deanna was the first clergy in the United States ordained to the Ministry of Gun Violence Prevention. As one member of PPF put it this week: Deanna has been an inspiration and prophet to those of us working alongside her to end gun violence in America. We will keep her and her family in our prayers. Some of us call Deanna "the Mother of Guns to Gardens" and we promise to do everything we can to keep her work growing, to save lives. PPF's new Executive Director Rev. Dr. Laurie Lyter Bright put it this way: It is a moment of both grief and constancy, caring for Deanna and planning for how the work of gun violence prevention will continue. Thank you, God, for Deanna. Be with her and with her family in every hour. New! T-Shirts & Sweatshirts PPF now offers 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 Support PPF's Advent/Year-End Giving Campaign! Goal: $80,000 We can do it! Gifts are tax-deductible. Give HERE Or Mail checks to: "Presbyterian Peace Fellowship" 17 Cricketown Rd. Stony Point, NY 10980 Thank you. GIVE HERE! Learn more at presbypeacefellowship.org/gun-violence Rev. Deanna Hollas, Gun Violence Prevention Coordinator gvp@presbypeacefellowship.org Rev. Jan Orr-Harter, Enews Editor janoh4@aol.com News! Share new article in Presbyterian Outlook by Rev. Deanna Hollas, From Despair to Hope: Mobilizing Your Church to End Gun Violence HERE. Find the full special issue on Gun Violence Prevention HERE. Presbyterian Peace Fellowship 845-786-6743 | presbypeacefellowship.org Instagram | Facebook | Twitter