Yardley Friends Meeting Gun Violence Prevention ad hoc Committee was formed in December 2017 as a result of serious concerns regarding the mass shooting in Nevada in October 2017 and the accelerating level of gun violence in the US in general. We have been meeting biweekly ever since.
This Committee first and foremost is founded on the belief that “there is that of God in everyone”. This conviction is the core of the foundational Quaker testimony of Peace and Non-violence.
The focus of the Committee is Threefold:
- To encourage voting in accordance with common sense gun safety measures by familiarizing Meeting members/attenders with our legislators and candidates and their prospective positions on these matters.
- To familiarize the Meeting Members/Attenders with the numerous organizations which have substantial gun safety initiatives in place.
- To bear witness to the public the enormity of gun violence in our country and inspire others to action, recognizing that we all must play a part in decreasing gun violence in our society.
Here is a list of major Gun Safety advocacy organizations and a description of their focus and the information you can obtain from connecting with them.
Yardley Friends Meeting Hosted the November 2018 Quarterly Meeting for the Bucks Quarter Quakers
The GV Prevention Committee did a special presentation on gun violence issues in our society as the educational program for the Quarterly Meeting event. Below you can access a PDF of the power point and a PDF of the sources used in pulling together the information for the presentation.
Ending Gun Violence PP Presentation – Quarterly Meeting
Handout – List of Sources for Gun Violence PP
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Memorial to the Lost – September 9th through October 23rd 
The Gun Violence Prevention Committee hosted a “Memorial to the Lost” which were on the grounds of our meeting house from September 9th through October. This T-Shirt Display honored the 59 Bucks County residents lost to gun homicides in the past decade.
We partnered with “Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence” to help us make this memorial a reality.
This T-Shirt display is now at Plumstead Friends Meeting House at 4914-A Point Pleasant Pike, Doylestown, PA 18902. All are welcome to go by and see it – walk through it to get a feel of the enormity of loss, read the names and ages of the lost to honor their spirit. Other meetings, faith communities interested in hosting the Memorial can contact Heeding God’s Call via the contact tab on their website: Heeding Gods Call
Memorial to the Lost – Witness Day – Sunday October 7 2018
We held a simple memorial service honoring the victims of gun homicide featured in our T-Shirt Memorial. Reading of the names, a prayer service, and a table of awareness information was followed by fellowship and refreshments.
Special Speaker on Gun Violence – Tues October 23, 2018
We held an additional event to deepen our understanding and awareness of gun violence issues.
Richie Schulz from Lutheran Ministries in Philadelphia spoke about the intersection of intimate partner violence and gun violence in America.
Mr. Schulz previously worked at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting which is the larger Quaker Community to which Yardley Friends belong. Currently, he is the community educator at Lutheran Settlement House (LSH), where he trains people on how to support survivors of domestic violence in their professional and personal contexts. At LSH he also organizes the Men Can Campaign, which focuses on engaging men to join the anti-violence movement. He is an organizer with Philly Showing Up for Racial Justice as well, where he trains white folks to show up more effectively and accountably in multiracial political movements.