A faith-based organization called Heeding God’s Call can help Quaker meetings across Philadelphia Yearly Meeting with reducing and eliminating gun violence. If your meeting is looking for an avenue to make a difference in this public health crisis, we hope you’ll be in touch. There are several ways to do so:
- Attend a conference call on Wednesday September 23 at 7 PM.
- Attend and Spread the word about Newtown Meeting’s Gun Violence Awareness Day.
- Talk to Brad Sheeks of Newtown Meeting about how to organize your own Gun Violence Awareness Day in your Quaker community. sheeksbrad@gmail.com
- Contact Bryan Miller, Heeding God’s Call Executive Director, about other information and other ways to help. bryanheeding@gmail.com
We interviewed Brad Sheeks about his experience organizing the Gun Violence Awareness Day in Newtown, and this is what he said:
I got started with planning a Gun Violence Awareness Day event as a result of a talk last May by Bryan Miller, Executive Director of Heeding God’s Call to End Violence at Newtown Friends Meeting. Bryan suggested the idea of having such an event in Newtown. It seemed that this was a good thing to do, and I had the time and energy to do it.
I made phone calls to about fifty faith communities and organizations in Bucks County, telling them about the idea and inviting them to attend an informational meeting. Twenty people, representing thirteen organizations came to the meeting. Bryan Miller explained the basic idea of a Gun Violence Awareness Day. He offered to be the primary sponsor. We agreed to start discussions in our home faith communities about co-sponsorship as a way of witnessing to the community about our concerns for reducing gun violence.
We agreed to set the November 10th as the date for the Gun Violence Awareness Day event itself.
So far eight faith communities and organizations have approved co-sponsorship of the Gun Violence Awareness Day, set for November 10th.
The service Awareness Day will feature survivors of gun violence, music, responsive readings, and prayers. Informational tables will display opportunities for taking further action about reducing gun violence. There will be a witness walk on and around State Street, leading to the church were a service will be held.
If you have questions or concerns about how this event fits into the wider question of reducing gun violence, contact Bryan Miller directly by phone at 856-371-3038 or by email at bryanheeding@gmail.com as well as visiting the Heeding God’s Call website https://www.heedinggodscall.org/
I am available to others who might like to consult on how to organize a Gun Violence Awareness Day event.