And we can help.

A large group of protestors holding signs with messages related to gun rights, safety, and anti-violence, gathered in a church or similar venue with wooden paneling and religious symbols in the background.

Your Congregation Can Prevent Gun Violence

What we are about…

Group of women seated in a circle in a well-lit room. They are smiling and holding papers, with some wearing lanyards. The room has a window, colorful artwork on the wall, and patio furniture.

Every day children, people struggling with mental health, or those in conflict with one another are injured or killed because unwanted guns were available. We have safer communities when weapons are not within reach.

But gun manufacturers are holding the keys. In order to make money they have made guns essential and bought out our legislators. We have more guns than people in our country.

We can make our communities safer and begin to heal from the suffering gun violence has had on our communities, by holding ritual space, and chopping up unwanted guns, one by one by one.

A man wearing sunglasses, a T-shirt, and yellow gloves stands outdoors at a table with a colorful striped cloth, surrounded by various tools and objects, with a house and greenery in the background.

Learn How: Guns to Gardens Action Circles

Action circles prepare people and congregations to host their first Guns to Gardens event.

Our team will walk you through how to invite your congregation into this ministry, how to properly dismantle a gun, how to promote your event, and how to offer pastoral care to those who bring guns to be dismantled. 

Registration open for Winter 2026 cohort

The action circles will meet for 6 weeks on Thursdays starting January 8th.

There is a daytime cohort and an evening cohort, please register for one. Each will meet for 1 hour. 

Daytime will meet 12:00pm ET / 11:00am CT / 10:00am MT / 9:00am PT

Each cohort has 25 spots. Register below!

A laptop on a wooden table showing a video conference with multiple participants and a ceramic mug filled with dark coffee beside it.
Daytime Cohort

Protecting Children from Gun Violence

Action Circles

5 Wednesdays on Zoom, for one hour.

Gather up a group from your congregation and/or community and join us to learn why gun violence is the #1 cause of death for American children, and best actions for congregations to help save young lives.

Winter Dates: Feb. 4 – March 4, 2026

12 PM ET/ 11 AM CT/ 10 AM MT/ 9 AM PT

Spring Dates: April 15 – May 13, 2026

Register here

This ecumenical study equips Christian congregations to learn how and why gun violence impacts children, and to take action to prevent it, like those in the Overture passed unanimously by the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly HERE.

(Children refers to infants - age 18.)

Time Commitment:

Five sessions for one hour each, with an hour of advance preparation required for each session.

Topics Covered include:

  • Children in the Crossfire: How Did We Get Here?

  • Saving Child Lives with Secure Storage Programs

  • Seeing Our Children: The Mental and Spiritual Health of Children and Teens in the Crossfire

  • Direct Action Options for Real Safety for Children

  • Advocacy, Voting and Next Steps for Your Congregation

The James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage

Ready to deepen your engagement in gun violence prevention? The James Atwood Institute for Congregational Courage offers hands-on training, practical resources, and a supportive community

Learn More

Resources

Gun Violence Prevention Congregational Toolkit

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Gun Violence Prevention Congregational Toolkit *

Order our Gun Violence Prevention Congregational Toolkit today!

80 pages of educational, pastoral and action resources shared by many congregations. We encourage each church to have both the print version and the digital Toolkit, 2025 Edition.

Get the Digital Toolkit

Order the Print Edition, $20 includes postage. We suggest that you have both the print and digital versions.

A poster titled 'Five Easy Ways to Protect Your Family, Community and Yourself from Gun Violence' featuring a group of smiling children of diverse backgrounds.

Gun Safety & Safe Storage Cards

These Gun Safety Cards provide simple steps we can take to keep ourselves and our families safe in a world where guns are present in many homes and public places. They can be easily distributed at events, in church or to friends and family.

Download cards as PDF for free

Order printed cards by mail: $14 for 50, $21 for 100, or $70 for 500

Download the PDF reference guide for the cards

Two men working at a blacksmithing forge outdoors at dusk, one striking a piece of metal with a hammer, the other holding tongs, with a few onlookers in the background.

Share Guns to Gardens with your Congregation

Download the free PDF Guns to Gardens brochure and start talking with your community about how to turn guns into garden tools.

Download the brochure

Two hands holding paper candleholders with a lit candle between them in a dark setting.

Respond to Gun Violence Events with our Emergency Response Kit

Download the free PDF with suggestions for prayers, hymns, scripture and other worship ideas, as well as action suggestions and a sample vigil.

Download the kit

Orange T-shirt with a graphic of a tree and crossed guns, and the words "Guns to Gardens" printed on it.

Wear Guns to Gardens Shirts

Buy T-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies in grey, blue, or orange with the Guns to Gardens logo and support the cause while out in your community.

Buy apparel

Flyer advocating for gun violence prevention and children, featuring a quote about children being tired of dying from gun violence, and mentioning Reverend Ben Fitzgerald-Fye, a gun violence survivor, with images of children and related visuals.

Gun Violence Prevention and Children

Download the Brochure

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