Presbyterians to gather for gun violence prevention witness in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE — As Presbyterians gather to discern the future actions and statements of the church during the 227th General Assembly, many will step outside the meeting halls on Saturday to bear public witness against one of the nation's most persistent forms of violence: gun violence.

“Healing Not Harm: A Walk to End Gun Violence” will bring together assembly participants, local Presbyterians, survivors and advocates for prayer, education and a march through downtown Milwaukee.

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The event will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Central Time and is coordinated by the Presbytery of Milwaukee and the Office of Public Witness of Presbyterian Life & Witness. Participants will gather at Père Marquette Park, across from the Hyatt Hotel, for a Guns to Gardens blacksmith demonstration and remarks from national and local speakers. Around 10 a.m., attendees will walk approximately one mile round-trip to Milwaukee City Hall, encircle the building in prayer and return to the Baird Center. Those unable to participate in the walk can take part in related activities, resources and video presentations in the Baird Center North lobby. 

The event was planned through a partnership among the Presbytery of Milwaukee, the Office of Public Witness, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and local leaders from Milwaukee and neighboring John Knox Presbytery, with support from community partners including Guns to Gardens, the Wisconsin Council of Churches and the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort.

Planned speakers include the Rev. Dr. Ann Gibbs of the Presbytery of Milwaukee; the Rev. Jeannine Oaks Daugherty of North Shore Presbyterian Church; the Rev. Jimmie Hawkins, PC(USA) director of advocacy; Dr. Andrew Peterson, representative for peacemaking in the Office of Public Witness; the Rev. Margery Rossi of Presbyterian Peace Fellowship; and Milwaukee residents Debra Gillispie and Frank Cimorelli, both of whom lost children to gun violence.

Organizers say the event was selected because gun violence affects communities across the country.

“The Milwaukee Committee on Local Arrangements chose this theme because it is something that unfortunately unites all peoples across the United States,” said Gibbs, presbyter for ministry vitality in the Presbytery of Milwaukee. “From rural communities to suburbs and cities, gun violence in some form is present throughout our nation in every state.” 

Gibbs said planners intentionally chose an issue that reaches beyond Wisconsin and Milwaukee and hoped the gathering would serve as “a catalyst for real change.” 

For Peterson, the event reflects longstanding commitments already embraced by the denomination.

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“As Presbyterians, we are called by Scripture to be peacemakers and to ‘seek the welfare of the city’ — mandates that compel us to action when our beloved friends, neighbors, and, especially, our children, are dying from gun violence,” Peterson said. “It is essential that we renew, deepen, and act upon our longstanding commitment to building a world where we can all live free from gun violence.” 

The Rev. Stacey J. Cavanagh of Union Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Wisconsin, said personal experience drew her into gun violence prevention work.

“The ripple effects of gun violence are felt in nearly every congregation,” Cavanagh said. She recalled losing friends in the 2008 shooting at a Kirkwood, Missouri, City Council meeting and later ministering to students, teachers and families affected by school shootings, suicide and accidental gun deaths. 

“Gun violence is a growing issue, and we need the church to move beyond thoughts and prayers to advocacy and action,” Cavanagh said. “I hope that this day of community action will help us return to our churches with concrete steps towards advocacy and action.” 

The Rev. Scott Marrese-Wheeler, a retired teaching elder in John Knox Presbytery who works with the Guns to Gardens ministry through the Wisconsin Council of Churches, said addressing gun violence is a matter of Christian discipleship.

“For me it is a faith issue,” Marrese-Wheeler said. “Gun Violence is the leading cause of children in our nation between the ages of 2-19. That alone should give every person who professes to be a follower of Christ pause to reflect on our call as followers of Christ to put away our ‘swords’ and weapons, beating them into instruments of healing and life.” 

Marrese-Wheeler said he does not expect a single event to solve the problem, but hopes it will inspire Presbyterians to take meaningful steps when they return home.

“While this event will not end gun violence in our nation, it might give more Presbyterians as followers of Christ the courage to go back to their home congregations and communities, and begin to take actions, centered in their faith and scripture, to address this national epidemic, moving us beyond ‘thoughts and prayers’ to actual action.”