Join us in our second annual Lenten Fast to End Gun Violence
To Catholic Sisters, our partners, and people of faith:
As Catholics, our faith calls us to nonviolence, and our hearts are broken by the constant gun violence in the United States. In response to the gun violence epidemic, we invite you to join in our second annual Lenten Fast to End Gun Violence. This will be the second year of offering our fast as a prayer to God and an opportunity to publicly appeal to our civic communities for action to reduce gun violence.
We will join our hearts, minds, and bodies in a sacrifice—according to our capability—as an expression of love, in a spirit of generosity, willingly abstaining from food and drink or undertaking other meaningful sacrifices as we put forth our united call for people to lay down their guns and enact gun violence prevention legislation. This year, our advocacy focuses on the intersection of gun violence and immigration. We will share resources to educate about the way weak gun laws in several U.S. states lead to devastating crime, violence, and forced migration across Latin America and the Caribbean and offer advocacy opportunities with several coalition partners.
The toll gun violence takes on our communities is staggering. Every day in the United States, 125 people are shot and killed and more than 200 are shot and wounded. Death by suicide, homicide, and mass shootings ravage our communities at rates 26 times higher than other high-income nations. Troublingly, the leading cause of death of children and teens in the United States is now firearms. Despite public support, gun violence prevention legislation stagnates in Congress, and many state and local representatives enact extreme laws that ignore the public call for gun violence prevention legislation. Due to this lack of strong gun violence prevention legislation, the United States exports its gun violence epidemic and exacerbates the causes of immigration.
As we prepare for the Lenten season, we reflect on this reality and the devastating effect of gun violence on our nation. The loss of life and the continuous toll of grief and trauma on individuals, families, and communities compel us to take action to change our society to protect life.
We hope that members of our coalition congregations and like-minded individuals will join us in this fast. Please share this invitation with your community members and networks. To help us demonstrate the breadth of this movement, please complete our commitment form at bit.ly/LentenFastCommitment.
This year, we encourage you to commit to three components:
- PRAYER: All are invited to gather virtually for an Ash Wednesday Prayer Service to begin our fast on Wednesday, March 5 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Please register at bit.ly/NAGV-Ash-Wed. It will be livestreamed on YouTube concurrently, and the recording can be watched at any time afterward.
- CONNECTION: With little chance of common sense gun legislation passing at the federal level in the next two years, we challenge each fast participant to find at least one local or state organization to support. Sign up for their mailing list or find a way to volunteer.
- ADVOCACY: Though Jesus told us not to brag about our fasting, it is important to use this fast as a witness to the urgency of the gun violence epidemic. We will provide resources to assist you in publicly acknowledging your fast, information about any relevant legislation, and how to contact your national and local representatives.
If you have additional questions, please contact us atinfo@nunsagainstgunviolence.org.
Thank you for your participation in this Lenten Fast to End Gun Violence. May our prayers and fast strengthen the desire to create a society of peace.
Peace,
Nuns Against Gun Violence Coalition
