Talking points include what faith expects
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Suffragan Bishop Bruce K. Shaw, New Hope Pentecostal Church and chairman of Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, is among area clergy who will address the topic of gun violence. SPRINGFIELD — On the weekend of June 21 through 23, nine area clergy will talk on the topic of gun control, addressing such points as what can be done to reduce gun violence in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings and what “do our religious faiths expect of us?,” according to a release.
Participants include: the Rev. David Darcy, pastor of Holy Cross Church; the Rev. Charla L. Kouadio, lead pastor, Christ’s Community Church, United Church of Christ, Chicopee; the Rev. John E. Mueller, Trinity United Methodist Church; the Very Rev. James G. Munroe, dean, Christ Church Cathedral; Imam Rasul Faheem Seifullah, leader of the Al-Baqi Islamic Center; Suffragan Bishop Bruce K. Shaw, New Hope Pentecostal Church and chairman of Pentecostal Assemblies of the World; Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro, Sinai Temple; Carol Smith, licensed pastor, United Church of Christ; and the Rev. Peter T. Sylver, pastor Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church.
In the absence of Congressional action on the issue of gun control in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shootings, the Obama administration is said to be working on executive measures to allow greater excess to mental health records in terms of background check for gun applicants and to expand research into gun violence, looking both at prevention and treatment of violent behavior and the influence of violent video games according to the New York Times.
In December, 20-year-old Adam Lanza gained entry to the Sandy Hook school and started shooting, killing 20 first-graders and six staffers.
Before heading to the school in a rural area of western Connecticut, Lanza killed his mother in their Newtown home. He killed himself as first responders arrived at the nearby school in response to the shootings. Within five minutes, Lanza had fired off 154 shots with a Bushmaster .223-caliber rifle, slaughtering the students and staff.
