United Methodist Participation for 'Wear Orange Day' Looks Sparse Online

by

A United Methodist Insight Special

Supporters hope a sea of orange will wash over the United States on Friday, June 2 in observance of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, also known as "Wear Orange Day." However, United Methodist participation in the event appears sparse, judging from a brief examination of conference and local church websites and social media.

Not that the worldwide denomination, with 6 million U.S. members, ignores gun violence. The General Board of Church and Society and the official UMC.org website both carry extensive resources for conferences and churches to use in advocating for greater gun safety. It's just that "#Wear Orange Day" doesn't seem to be capturing United Methodists' outrage over gun violence and mass shootings.

June is National Gun Violence Awareness Month, sponsored by major organizations such as Everytown for Gun Safety, Sandy Hook Promise and others. The June 2 observance feeds into the June 3-4 weekend when events are scheduled around the country to draw attention to the continuing scourge of gun violence.

Among United Methodists, the New England and California-Nevada annual conferences posted news about Wear Orange Day and encouragement to participate. However, conferences that might be expected to join the observance, such as Rio Texas where Uvalde is located, Tennessee-Western Kentucky where a school shooting occurred in March, and Northern Illinois where the "Wear Orange" movement started, show no plans for participating in either the June 2 observance or the awareness weekend that follows.

New England Conference reports that "death by guns is now the #1 killer of kids in the United States. ... Join in Wear Orange Weekend, June 2-4, 2023. The event is organized by Everytown for Gun Safety. Learn more at https://wearorange.org"

California-Nevada Conference reports that some churches in its region will join in a bell-ringing event, "Ring Out Danger," organized by the Unitarian Universalist Association of Petaluma, Calif., for noon PT on June 2.  Joining in "tolling church bells to mourn and protest the epidemic of gun violence in the United States" will be clergy from Petaluma United Methodist Church.

"Ring Out Danger" organizers plan to the June 2 event to kick off an ongoing ritual bell-tolling, to occur on the first Friday of each month at 9:35 a.m. for five minutes, “until this epidemic is successfully halted by appropriate government action,” UU Petaluma Board member and event organizer David Dodd said in a press release.

“9:35 is significant in that it was the hour at which the Sandy Hook shootings began,” he added, noting that in the short course of five minutes, 26 lives were claimed.

While pastors and church members may not participate publicly, the UMC still offers multiple resources to raise awareness of gun violence and encourage advocating for better gun safety and an end to the violence that takes 120 lives each day, according Everytown for Gun Safety

Church and Society, the agency given responsibility for carrying out the UMC's social justice policies, notes that both the Old and New testaments speak to the devastation of armed violence. From a section on its website titled "What the Bible and The United Methodist Church Say":

"The prophet Micah casts a hopeful vision of the future where nations will 'beat their swords into iron plows, and their spears into pruning hooks.' (Micah 4:3) Jesus says, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.' (Matthew 5:9)"

The Church and Society website goes on: "The United Methodist Church urges 'congregations to advocate at the local and national level for laws that prevent or reduce gun violence.' The agency lists several measures:

  • Universal background checks on all gun purchases;
  • Ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty;
  • Ensuring all guns are sold through licensed gun retailers;
  • Prohibiting all individuals under restraining order due to threat of violence from purchasing a gun;
  • Prohibiting persons with serious mental illness, who pose a danger to themselves and their communities, from purchasing a gun;
  • Ensuring greater access to services for those who have mental illness;
  • Establishing a minimum age of 21 years for a gun purchase or possession;
  • Banning large capacity ammunition magazines and weapons designed to fire multiple rounds each time the trigger is pulled;
  • Promoting new technologies to aid law-enforcement agencies to trace crime guns and promote public safety. (Book of Resolutions, 3428)

Church and Society also offers two print resources: a Gun Violence Cheat Sheet and a Faith and Facts Card on Gun Violence.

The official church website, UMC.org, posts an article, " Ways United Methodists can take a stand against gun violence{" by Joe Iovino that lists Church and Society's resources along with others, including a Bible study.

According to WearOrange.com:

"On January 21, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton marched in President Obama’s second inaugural parade. One week later, Hadiya was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. Soon after this tragedy, Hadiya’s friends commemorated her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. Wear Orange is now observed every June. Thousands of people wear the color orange to honor Hadiya and the more than 40,000 people who are killed with guns and approximately 85,000 who are shot and wounded every year."

To stay up-to-date on the gun violence epidemic after Wear Orange Day, #SandyHookPromise offers a web page with important facts about gun violence and school shootings such as those that occurred a year ago in Uvalde and last March in Nashville. Among its offerings are links such as:

"Gun violence is preventable when you know the signs. Learn and share the warning signs of violence. Text KNOW to 79775. #GunViolenceAwarenessMonth #SandyHookPromise #ProtectOurKids"

For those who want to participate in Wear Orange Day, Everytown for Gun Safety recommends:

  • "Post to social media reminding everyone in your network to do the same on June 2. 
  • "Determine the best way to #WearOrange in your community: attending a local event, placing a homemade sign in your window, or anything else that lets your community know how you feel about the crisis of gun violence."

Veteran communicator Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, a news-and-views online journal she founded in 2012 as a media channel for marginalized and under-served voices in the United Methodist Church. Email Insight for permission to republish this article elsewhere.