Prayers and Worship Resources
"How Long, Oh Lord" is a prayerbook offered by the Office of Public witness. It includes a mix of prayers for corporate and private use in circumstances following firearm related violence and death. Prayers by Dr. Willie James Jennings, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, and Rev. Julie Hester address topics like shootings, gun violence culture, hunting, and suicide from a pastorally rich and sensitive perspective. The prayers are accompanied artwork by Sayde Anderson and Blake Johnson.
Scripture Passages Addressing Gun Violence
These texts certainly do not exhaust the passages that may speak to the challenges of gun violence, public violence and mass shootings. These are only a few of the passages that may be instructive in study, preaching and reflection on the epidemic of gun violence and the challenges we face in preventing it.
Hymns Relating to Gun Violence
Listed are an assortment of hymns from the Presbyterian Hymnal (1990), Glory to God Hymnal (2013) and from Presbyterian hymn writer Carolyn Winfrey Gillette.
Two days after a mass shooting mere blocks from the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, the Rev. Dr. Diane Givens Moffett , Presbyterian Mission Agency president and executive director, delivered a sermon addressing that tragedy and the ongoing epidemic of gun violence in the United States and around the world at the weekly chapel service for the PC(USA) national office staff. This is that sermon, based on Mark 19:14-29.
Gun Violence and Eastertide 2023
This five-minute video captures a portion of the weekly chapel service at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday, May 31, that was held in recognition of National Gun Violence Awareness Day (June 2). In a prayerful and painful litany of statistics and with a U.S. map that increasingly filled with red dots, it recounts the mass shootings that took place during each week of Eastertide, culminating in the Day of Pentecost.
A Litany on the Tragedy of Gun Violence
This litany was written in 2010 to accompany the resources for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but it is appropriate for any worship service or gathering that draws attention to the escalation of gun violence, public violence and mass shootings in the United States. It can be used as written or adapted to a particular context.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Worship Resources
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a good Sunday to draw addition to the practices of nonviolence and the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S.
Gun Violence Hymn: “God of Mercy You Have Shown Us”
This hymn, set to the tune of BEACH SPRING 8.7.8.7 D (“God Whose Giving Knows No Ending”), was originally written at the request of the PC(USA) UN Office for the 2009 International Day of Peace. It is suitable for services that address gun violence. (Available in two formats.)
Gun Violence Hymn: “To A Place of Celebration”
This hymn set to the tune of EBENEZER 8.7.8.7 D (“Why Do Nations Rage Together”) was written by Carolyn Gillette Winfrey in response to the June 12, 2016, shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people and wounded 58. It can be used, regrettably, following other instances of mass shooting. (Available in two formats.)
Gun Violence Hymn: “God, Our Nation Feels the Loss”
This hymn was written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette in remembrance of the beloved children of God who died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022. Many of us, as individuals, do not accept violence, keep silent, or clamor for guns. Yet, as a nation, we do these things, and as a nation, we need to repent; we need to turn around and live a different way. All of us are called to do more than sing and pray; please work for gun safety laws in your community and state. (Available in two formats.)