I want to invite you to join with Glenn Memorial UMC on Sunday, August 13, at 5 p.m., in a service of lamentation for the pain and loss caused by the continuing epidemic of gun violence. At the most recent meeting of the North Georgia Annual Conference, the delegates approved a resolution submitted by Glenn’s Church Council asking legislators to enact meaningful measures to reduce gun violence in Georgia. This service of worship and prayer on August 13 is an important part of our efforts to address gun violence, and we would welcome your participation.

Following the service, resources and information about advocacy and gun safety will be available, along with the opportunity to connect with other folks already engaged, or wishing to engage, in efforts to reduce gun violence. We all know this is a complicated issue. Conversation and cooperation are essential if we’re to find meaningful answers.

As was stated in the resolution passed by the Annual Conference, we believe “silence in the face of continuing gun violence at the very least violates God’s commandment that we love our neighbor as ourselves.” Our United Methodist Book of Resolutions also calls us “to address gun violence through prayer, conversation, support for those affected by gun violence, practicing and teaching gun safety, and advocating for laws that prevent or reduce gun violence.”

I hope you will join us for this service. No one of us alone has all the answers needed to end the pandemic of gun violence today, but we can begin by gathering, exploring the roles we can take, and inviting God into our grief and work. Please let me know if you have any questions, and please invite others you think might want to be a part of this.

In Christ,
Mark