 |
| Photo by courtesy of Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence |
| Church
of the Brethren representative Jonathan Stauffer (left) attended the
press conference of Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence. On Tuesday,
Jan. 15, faith leaders called on President Obama and Congress to move
quickly on legislation that would require background checks on all gun
sales and remove military-style assault weapons from our streets. |
In response to the recent tragedy in Newtown, Conn., the Church of
the Brethren has been collaborating with a coalition of over 40
religious groups as a part of Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence.
Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence is an alliance of religious
groups that bases its work in the belief that, “Gun violence is taking
an unacceptable toll on our society, in mass killings and in the
constant day-to-day of senseless death. While we continue to pray for
the families and friends of those who have perished, we must also
support our prayers with action” (
www.faithsagainstgunviolence.org
). On Martin Luther King Day 2011, 24 national faith groups announced
the formation of the coalition, 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. Two years later, the coalition has
grown to 40 groups representing tens of millions of Americans.
Earlier
this month, Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence drafted a letter to
President Obama and Congress calling on them to push for a mandatory
criminal background check on all gun purchases, a ban on high-capacity
weapons and ammunition magazines, and to make gun trafficking a federal
crime.
Church of the Brethren general secretary Stanley J. Noffsinger signed
this letter (see full text below) along with the heads of over 40 other
religious groups including the National Council of Churches, the
Presbyterian Church USA Office of Public Witness, the United Methodist
General Board of Church and Society, the Friends Committee on National
Legislation, the Islamic Society of North America, the Jewish Council
for Public Affairs, Mennonite Central Committee, Sojourners, and the
United Church of Christ.
On Jan. 15, representatives from many of these groups came together
in Washington, D.C., for a press conference to talk publicly about gun
violence and to promote the letter to political leaders. Many faith
leaders spoke at the event including Sojourners’ Jim Wallis. The Church
of the Brethren was represented by Jonathan Stauffer, an advocacy
assistant at the denomination’s Advocacy and Peace Witness Office. The
event garnered coverage in many news sources, including the “New York
Times” in its “The Lede: Blogging the News with Robert Mackey” and the
“Washington Post” (
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/faith-leaders-launch-gun-control-push/2013/01/15/82d78632-5f2c-11e2-9940-6fc488f3fecd_blog.html ).
Vinny DeMarco, national coordinator for Faiths United to Prevent Gun
Violence, was invited to be at the White House to represent the
coalition when President Obama and Vice President Biden announced their
gun violence prevention plan on Jan. 16.
In addition to the letter signed by Noffsinger and the continuing
work of Advocacy and Peace Witness Ministries, Church of the Brethren
members are urged to join a nationwide call-in effort to ask Congress to
enact laws to help end gun violence.
On Feb. 4, many faith groups are asking their members to call
representatives and senators and tell them how they feel about gun
violence. “Faiths Calling: If Not Now, When?” is the name of this
call-in effort organized by the Religious Action Center for Reform
Judaism. For more information go to
http://faithscalling.com.
We are asking you to join this effort. The Church of the Brethren has
taken a stance on gun violence in the past, most recently in 2010 with a
“Resolution in Support of the National Council of Churches of Christ,
USA: Ending Gun Violence” (
www.brethren.org/about/policies/2010-gun-violence.pdf ). We must now speak up and act again, as this devastating violence cannot go on.
-- Bryan Hanger is an advocacy assistant for the Church of the
Brethren and the National Council of Churches, working through Brethren
Volunteer Service. Contact the church’s Advocacy and Peace Witness
office in Washington, D.C., at 202-481-6931 or e-mail advocacy officer
Nathan Hosler at nhosler@brethren.org.
 |
| Photo by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford |
| Church
staff who work together regularly on advocacy and peace witness issues
include Nathan Hosler (left), Bryan Hanger (center), and Stan Noffsinger
(right). The three were photographed together at a staff gathering
focused on common work toward the denomination's strategic goals. |
Full text of the letter sent to Congress by Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence:
Faiths United To Prevent Gun Violence
United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC
January 15, 2013
Dear Member of Congress:
On Martin Luther King Day, January 17, 2011, 24 national faith groups
announced the formation of “Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence,” a
diverse coalition of denominations and faith-based organizations united
by the call of our faiths to confront America’s gun violence epidemic
and to rally support for policies that reduce death and injury from
gunfire. Two years later, we have grown to more than 40 groups
representing tens of millions of Americans in faith communities across
the nation--and our call to confront this epidemic has grown ever more
urgent and imperative.
The recent loss in Connecticut of 20 innocent young children, of the
teachers and administrators that cared for them, and of a desperately
troubled young man and his mother, tears our hearts and minds to the
core. Faith leaders in Newtown have been on the front line of responding
to the grief and pain of the families whose loss is unimaginable, and
of the entire community there. Across the country, we grieve with our
own congregants and communities, and we share their determination to do
all within our power to ensure that this never happens again.
In light of the tragedy in Newtown--and in Aurora, Tucson, Fort Hood,
Virginia Tech, Columbine, Oak Creek, and so many more--we know that no
more time can be wasted. Gun violence is taking an unacceptable toll on
our society, in mass killings and in the constant day-to-day of
senseless death. While we continue to pray for the families and friends
of those who died, we must also support our prayers with action. We
should do everything possible to keep guns out of the hands of people
who may harm themselves or others. We should not allow firepower to kill
large numbers of people in seconds anywhere in our civil society. And
we should ensure that law enforcement has the tools it needs to stop the
virtually unrestrained trafficking of guns.
Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence member organizations,
representing millions of people across the country, urge you to respond
to this crisis in our nation. With each day that goes by, dozens more of
our children, parents, brothers, and sisters are lost to gun violence.
We support immediate legislative action to accomplish the following:
- Every person who buys a gun should pass a criminal background
check. Preventing dangerous people from getting firearms has to be a top
priority. Universal background checks via the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS) should be utilized in every gun sale,
including guns sold online, at gun shows, and through private sales.
- High-capacity weapons and ammunition magazines should not be
available to civilians. There is no legitimate self-defense or sporting
purpose for these military-style, high-capacity weapons and magazines.
They are, however, the weapons of choice for those who want to shoot and
kill a large amount of people quickly. It’s time to build off of the
federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 and draft an updated
law that will take these weapons off our streets.
- Gun trafficking should be made a federal crime. Currently,
prosecutions only happen through a law that prohibits selling guns
without a federal license, which carries the same punishment as
trafficking chicken or livestock. We must empower law enforcement to
investigate and prosecute straw purchasers, gun traffickers, and their
entire criminal networks.
In recent weeks, the American people have come together in a national
outpouring of grief and sympathy for the families of victims slain in
the mass shooting in Newtown. We share in that grief, but will not let
it substitute for action. We look forward to working with you to enact
these common-sense measures to reduce gun violence. Should you or your
staff have questions or need additional information, please visit our
website at
www.faithsagainstgunviolence.org or contact our National Coordinator, Vincent DeMarco, by email at
demarco@mdinitiative.org or by phone at 410-591-9162.
Find this letter, and the complete list of the faith leaders who have signed it, at www.faithsagainstgunviolence.org.
Source: 1/24/2013 Newsline
The
Church of the Brethren’s Youth Peace Travel Team for 2013 has been
announced: Jacob Crouse, Heather Gentry, and Amanda McLearn-Montz.
Breathe It In
All Things New
God’s Good Creation
This
quarter, a Gather 'Round resource pack poster is helping Middler
children learn about the seasons of the Christian calendar.
Brethren Press’ 2013 Lenten devotional,
“The Practice of Paying Attention” by Dana Cassell, is still available
to order in time for the start of Lent. $2.50 per copy, $5.95 for large
print, plus shipping and handling. Or buy an e-book version in either
e-pub or pdf format for $2. Call 800-441-3712 or purchase online at 
Brethren
Volunteer Service (BVS) is marked by two key milestones in 2013: the
65th anniversary of the program’s enactment by Annual Conference, and
the volunteer Unit 300.
With
that quote, On Earth Peace has announced a new campaign dedicated to
the memory of Paul Ziegler, a Church of the Brethren college student who
died in a bicycle-automobile accident in McPherson, Kan., last
September. The campaign, “3,000 Miles for Peace,” will help On Earth
Peace raise funds for violence prevention efforts.
The
Girl’s Brigade held a one-week training at the headquarters of
Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the Brethren in
Nigeria) aimed to equip young leaders with responsibilities of nurturing
the upcoming girls. The Girl’s Brigade is an international organization
that could be likened to the Girl Scouts in the United States.
