GA227 will feature public witness addressing gun violence
In-person events in Milwaukee will begin with a walk and activity addressing gun violence and how the church is responding
MILWAUKEE — The first thing many people attending the 227th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will do is connect with the host city, Milwaukee, and one of the issues that it and communities across the country struggle with.
“The walk came about as a discernment process in the Presbytery of Milwaukee,” the Rev. Ann Gibbs, Presbyter for Ministry Vitality in the Presbytery of Milwaukee, says of Healing Not Harm: A Walk to End Gun Violence. “In the city and in rural areas, there's a strong impact of gun violence in our region, but not just in our region. We know that it is ... endemic across the United States.
“Knowing that, we wanted an action that just wasn't something that impacted Milwaukee and our people, but that would connect us as Presbyterians and the citizens across the country to do an action that reached farther than just this park and across the across the area.”
The walk will be part of Community Day June 27, opening the Assembly with a focus on the host city and the work of the church.
It will start with a 9 a.m. Central Time gathering at Milwaukee’s Pere Marquette Park, just a few blocks from the Baird Center, where the majority of GA227’s events will be held. It will begin with speakers from the presbytery and community, including people impacted by gun violence, as well as the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and the PC(USA)’s Office of Public Witness. Gibbs says speakers will covey ways the church is responding to gun violence from the congregational to national level.
In the park, people will also be able to experience contributions like the work of retired Lutheran Pastor Jeff Wild, who dismantles guns and turns them into gardening implements as part of the Gardens to Guns program. The inspiration for the program is Isaiah 2:4, which reads in part, “they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
The walk itself will start at 10 a.m. Central Time, proceeding across the Milwaukee River a few blocks to Milwaukee City Hall, stopping every 12 minutes for prayer, signifying that every 12 minutes someone in the United States dies due to gun violence.
From City Hall, the walk will return to the Baird Center, where more opportunities to engage with the issue of gun violence. Baird Center activities will also begin at 9 a.m. Central Time for people who cannot or do not want to participate in the walk.
Activities at the Baird Center will include preview clips of a new in-production documentary about gun violence prevention produced by Counter Stories Productions, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance’s Story Ministry, led by film director David Barnhart. This film is expected to be released in 2027. In 2017, Counter Stories Productions released the documentary "Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Guidance”, which continues to be screened across the US and is available on Amazon Prime.
The events in the park and the walk will be the most outwardly visible events of GA227 to the Milwaukee community, and Gibbs says she hopes it will demonstrate that the Presbytery of Milwaukee, the churches, and the PC(USA) are engaging with the issue and working for the safety of the community and the nation.
“We know that it doesn't have to be this way because it's not this way all over the world,” Gibbs says. “We want to hopefully shine a light on not just what is happening, but that it doesn't have to be this way, and we as people can make a difference.”
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