Atwood Institute sponsors double scholarships for gun violence prevention training

With more than 270 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, sponsors for the Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage have stepped up to double the scholarship fund for the Sept. 24-27 gun violence prevention training event in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

“People are paralyzed and stuck,” says Cheryl Hunt, a sponsor from Stockton, California. “With the government defunding programs to prevent gun violence, it feels like a time of chaos. But really this is exactly the time to have courage and to build the skills to move forward.”

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That’s exactly the purpose of the James Atwood Institute, named for the Rev. Jim Atwood, the late pastor, author, avid hunter and Christian prophet of gun violence prevention. Offered by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship each year, the event brings together ecumenical clergy and lay leaders to build skills, courage and community for gun violence education and action with congregations. The deadline to register is Aug. 31. Learn more, register and find the Institute schedule here.

Fifteen sponsors have contributed funds for scholarships for participants, doubling the scholarship fund from the 2024 Atwood Institute, which was held at Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center in Abiquiu, New Mexico. Those needing scholarships can apply by the Aug. 22 scholarship deadline here.

The sponsors come from all regions of the United States, including Ardmore Presbyterian Church in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Wisconsin Council of Churches, the Riverside Church in New York City, a family foundation in Kansas, the Presbyterian Outlook, RAWTools South in North Carolina, and other congregations and generous individuals from California to Virginia.

“Jim Atwood always said that the faith community is the key to preventing gun violence,” said the Rev. Rosalind Hughes, the Episcopal Canon for Beloved Community of the Diocese of Ohio and an Atwood Institute faculty member. “Congregations will benefit at the Institute not only from the experts, panels and workshops, but also from networking with one another, sharing ideas and programs that have worked in a range of church settings.”

Atwood Institute updates

• New congregational Action Circles for Protecting Children from Gun Violence will be introduced in workshops at the Atwood Institute. These four-session Action Circles come in response to the unanimous call of the 226^th General Assembly (2024) for each congregation to take some action to end the epidemic of gun violence that is now the number one killer of American children. The Action Circles cover the causes of the child gun violence crisis, addressing the impact of gun violence on children of color, on boys and on all children whose childhoods involve shooter drills and a daily fear of gun violence. The sessions guide congregations in evaluating diverse action options, ranging from promoting secure gun storage to programs that support the spiritual and emotional health of children to legislative advocacy and direct actions like Guns to Gardens.
• Pastoral care in the face of gun violence — PDA’s Dr. Kathy Riley returns to the Atwood Institute to share how congregations can best respond to gun violence disasters in their own communities, both during an emergency and for long-term care. The Rev. CeCe Armstrong, Co-Moderator of the 226^th General Assembly, will guide participants in learning how to offer pastoral healing and how to host a memorial vigil at times of gun violence. Following last year’s Institute, two participants put that training to work within a month due to mass shootings in Georgia and Wisconsin.
• Action strategies for now — distinguished faculty from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions will lift up actions that can have a positive impact in the current political environment. Lori Haas, the center’s advocacy manager, will focus on how to engage congregations in state-level gun sense legislation. Attorney Kelly Roskam will focus on the role denominations can play as friends of the court in protecting good gun laws under attack in the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. The center’s co-director, Joshua Horwitz, will guide participants in learning how to effectively talk about gun violence prevention, including sharing their own personal stories and motivations for this work.
• Hands-on Guns to Gardens training — the entire Institute will do a parking lot role play for a Guns to Gardens safe gun disposal event so that participants can learn how to host an event in their own church parking lots. RAWTools South will offer workshops in gun dismantlement and other aspects of the ministry that transforms unwanted firearms into garden tools, jewelry and art. Following the Institute, RAWTools South invites a limited number of participants to stay Sept. 27-28 for certification as a Guns to Gardens firearm safety officer. Inquire about that opportunity with Stan Wilson by sending an email here.

The Institute’s keynote speaker, Rev. Sharon Risher, will mark 10 years since her mother and other relatives were killed at the Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

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Author of “For Such a Time as This  — Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre,” Risher will lift up a call to courage in the face of a political climate where recent gains in saving lives are now all at risk. Risher’s address on the evening of Sept. 24 will be free and open to the public and area churches by advance registration here.

Costs for the Institute are a $180 registration fee per person, plus travel and lodging at Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center. There is a commuter option. Again, thanks to generous sponsors, scholarships are available.

The Rev. Jim Atwood was a Presbyterian pastor whose life was re-directed when a member of his Virginia congregation was murdered with a $20 handgun in 1975. For nearly 50 years, he called the church of Jesus Christ to take action to balance the rights of responsible gun owners with the right to live free from an epidemic that now takes over 40,000 lives in our country each year.

Founded in 1944, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship is a nationwide community of Christians committed to the nonviolence of Jesus Christ. PPF equips congregations and individuals to seek practical alternatives to violence and war, including gun violence. An independent nonprofit group, PPF operates with volunteers and a small staff, collaborating with the PC(USA) and encouraging this work in congregations and with ecumenical partners. Learn more here.