Congregations
AN INVITATION TO HELP END GUN VIOLENCE IN COLORADO
We invite your congregationto join Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence (CFCU).
We are agrowing coalition of Colorado congregations and organizations that include the Abrahamic and other faith traditionsworking together to support legislation and policies at the state and national level designed to reduce the current levels of violence arising out of theimproperuse of firearms.
Despite our diverse faith traditions, we are propelled by our collective belief in the sacredness of human life and the call to take action to protect and preserve it.
Membership in CFCU is simple and is available on two levels:
Participating Congregations
Your congregation determines that it wishes to support this effort.
Your congregationappoints at least one member (preferably two) who will attend the coalition meetings, vote on behalf of your congregation, and help develop and carry out programs and policies that support our mission through the work of our “Strategic Focus Area” groups.
Your congregation may have as many as two voting members and as many additional attending members as you wish. All are invited to help develop and carry out our programs and policies.
Your congregation will make a modest contribution annually to support the administrative needs of the coalition, in the range of $35-$100/year, depending on congregation size.
Endorsing Congregations
Your congregation carries out all of the obligations of a Participating Congregation, plus will adopt an official statement endorsing the goals of the coalition. (A sample endorsing statement is attached)
PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN CFCU. As our numbers grow, so does our ability to make and impact significant change in Colorado’s gun safety environment.
Attachments:
- Overall CFCU purpose statement with guiding principles, list of Strategic Focus Area groups and projects, and a list of Participating and Endorsing Congregations, as well as a list of Supporting Organizations.
- Sample Endorsing Statement for Adoption by Congregations
Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence (CFCU)
cfcu-co.org
"While we continue to pray for the families and friends of those who have perished, we must also support our prayers with action."--Faiths United to Prevent Gun Violence
Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence, a growing, multi-faith coalition of congregations and organizations that include the Abrahamic and other faith traditions, supports legislation and policies at the state and national level designed to promote gun safety and to reduce current levels of violence arising out of the improper use of firearms.
We are called to this position by our diverse faith traditions:
“They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:3b-4)
"You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16)
“Then Jesus said unto him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perishby the sword.’” (Matthew 26:52)
“Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” (Unitarian Universalism's 7th Principle)
“One should not (even) point to another brother (in humanity) with a weapon because satanic impulses may get into one’s hand, and hence fall into a pit of (hell) fire. (Prophet Mohammad)
As members of diverse faith communities, we commit to building consensus and support in our communities for steps that will turn our collective grief into shared hope. Together, let us join in the efforts to build communities of peace.
Guiding Principles
- Each congregation will continue to work on this issue in the ways that are appropriate to their members
- Decision-making for CFCU endorsed activities will be by consensus only; if consensus cannot be reached, a proposed action will not be pursued as a coalition project, though congregations may choose to work independently.
- CFCU activities should complement existing efforts and encourage new initiatives.
- CFCU will serve as a resource for information sharing and technical assistance among member congregations and mosques.
- CFCU will frame its activities as promoting policies that reduce deaths and injuries in Colorado caused by the use of firearms.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of CFCU is to help decrease the gun deaths and injuries in Colorado caused by the improper use of firearms by undertaking at least one unified effort per year in eachof the following Strategic Focus Areas:
Advocacy (Legislative) – actively supporting governmental policies and legislators who support policies that reduce gun deaths and violence.
Project: Much of the work of the Advocacy SFA revolves around gun bill activity at the Colorado state legislature. During the legislative session from January to May, we notify individuals from CFCU congregations about important gun legislation and when they should contact specific state legislators, via a Rapid Response Network. We make the process easy by providing talking points and contact information. We also help organize people from CFCU who want to testify at hearings about gun bills. Nationally, we keep an eye on legislation and contact our Congressional officials when needed.
During election years, we help congregationsrun voter registration drives and involve their congregants in local elections (without endorsing candidates).
Contacts: Julie Meyers (First Unitarian) at and Kathleen Visovatti (First Universalist) at
Action– Pursuing programmatic (non-legislative) strategies likely to reduce gun deaths and related violence e.g. public education and social media campaigns, disinvestment or community organizing strategies etc.
Project: Our goal is to reduce gun injuries and deaths (accidental, intentional and suicide) in our communities by focusing on gun safety education as a means to address this growing public health epidemic in two ways: (1) a prevention-oriented outreach campaign to healthcare systems and providers, designed to promote more screening for guns in the home, coupled with patient safety education andimproved public information on web sites; and (2) a parent education program about safety measures that can be taken to reduce the risks of guns in the home.
Contacts: Alice Silver (Washington Park UCC) at and Alana Smart (B’nai Havurah) at
Awareness – Working to reduce gun violence by providing resources for CFCU and its member congregations.
2016 Projects: 1) establish a “key communicator” network of representatives from each CFCU member congregation; 2) develop and distribute, through the key communicator network, materials for inclusion in congregational orders of service, periodic publications, email blasts and the like; 3) work with the Outreach SFA to provide resources for congregations considering CFCU affiliation; and 4) maintain CFCU’s web presence at
Contacts: David Livingston (First Universalist) at and Dick Anderson (First Plymouth UCC)
Outreach - Working 1) to reach out to non-participating congregations who may have an interest in our work in order to encourage their active involvement in CFCU and 2) to assist currently participating congregations in moving their membership towards a statement from their congregation endorsing the goals and work of CFCU.
Projects:
1) Develop a recruitment package for use with prospective new congregations that includes an invitation letter, a description of CFCU goals and objectives, current participating congregations, and a sample endorsement statement.
2) Develop a target list of prospective congregationsto contact for discussing their potential involvement with CFCU. Using the recruitment package, contact those congregations and discuss their potential involvement.
3) Identify currently participating congregationsthat may need assistance in moving their congregations toward making a formal endorsement of the CFCU mission.
Contact: Jerry
Participating Congregations and Mosques as of January 2016
(Endorsing Congregations and Mosques in bold)
- B’kavod Jose Diaz Havurah of B'nai Havurah
- Capitol Heights Presbyterian
- Calvary Baptist
- Columbine Unitarian Universalist Church
- Congregation B’NaiChaim, Morrison
- Congregation Bonai Shalom, Boulder
- Discerning Community Light of Christ Ecumenical Catholic Church, Boulder
- First Plymouth Congregational Church
- First Unitarian Society of Denver
- First Universalist
- Grace United Methodist Church
- Islamic Center and Mosque of Golden
- Living Light of Peace, Arvada
- Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church, Summit County
- Messiah Community Church ELCA
- Montview Presbyterian
- Mountain View Friends Meeting
- Mountain View United Church, Aurora
- Our Savior's Lutheran Church
- Park Hill Congregational Church
- Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren
- Rodef Shalom
- St. Thomas Episcopal
- Sixth Avenue UCC
- Synagogue of the Summit, Summit County
- Temple Emanuel
- Temple Micah
- University Park United Methodist
- Washington Park United Church of Christ
Supporting Organizations
Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council
Jewish Community Relations Council
The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado
Contacts:
Jerry Arca, Co-Chair, , 303 807-0998
Gene Drumm, Co-Chair, , 303 941-2792
Alana Smart, Co-Chair, , 303 807-1173
2/17/16
Congregations
ENDORSING STATEMENT FOR PARTICIPATING CONGREGATIONS
We, the members of ______, affirm the sacred nature of human life and feel called to speak out and act when our blood or the blood of our neighbors is spilled. Aware of the continuing problem of gun violence in our state and country, we seek to give voice to all those who have been lost to gunfire, to their families and to their communities, and therefore endorse, as a congregation, the following statement:
We, as a member of Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence (CFCU), join and endorse the work of CFCU to promote legislation, policies and public programs designed to reduce the current levels of violence arising out of the improper use of firearms.
We call for the passage and preservation of common sense gun safety laws at the state and national level that will keep deadly firearms out of the hands of people who should not have them.
We call for a variety of public sector programs that help community leaders talk to their constituents about the costly and growing public health issue that gun violence has become, and how to deal with it.
And we call for more faith communities to join hands with us and the other members of Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence to raise our collective voice in a powerful and impassioned effort to build communities of peace.
Approved this day,
(Name of Congregation)
Date: