Celebrating 11 Years of Faith-Fueled ACTION to End Gun Violence!
April 2026 Digest
Rory Clawson, Our Savior's Lutheran, presents the notes from a table discussion at the second of three strategic planning meetings for CFCU. (Background, Alana Smart, Congregation B'nai Havurah, and Cheryl Fleetwood, Central Presbyterian Church.
In this edition of the Digest:
Our Featured Congregation: First Universalist Church
From the Advocacy Team
Reina Doyle, from Office of Gun Violence Prevention Talks about ERPOs
Guns to Gardens Event- Saturday, May 9 at Most Precious Blood
Words That Disarm: All the Empty Rooms
CFCU Monthly Action Guide for April: Host a Movie Screening
February Financial Report
CFCU April Calendar
Our Featured Congregation:
First Universalist Church of Denver
Located at the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Hampden Avenue, First Universalist Church of Denver was founded in 1891. Since then it has met in various locations, before building its current home in 1960. An extensive rebuilding campaign resulted in the new building in 2018, with its beautiful sanctuary featuring beetle-killed pine throughout, (see photo above).
Over the years, the congregation has been a steadfast advocate for social justice, as demonstrated by being a founding member of Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence, following the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
This commitment to ending gun violence has been shown by First Universalist’s support for and attendance at vigils and demonstrations commemorating the victims of gun violence, testifying and communicating with legislators regarding gun bills, volunteering at Guns to Gardens safe firearm surrender events, and maintaining a strong Rapid Response Network to keep members informed of gun violence bills, research, and data.
First Universalist’s deep Denver roots are demonstrated by member, A.J. Fynn, who wrote “Where the Columbines Grow,” which was adopted as the official Colorado State Song in 1915 . And by congregation member and Denver’s District Attorney, Philip Van Cise, who not only took down the Ku Klux Klan in our city, in the 1920’s, but used the church basement as a temporary holding cell, since he couldn’t trust the police, while breaking up a con artist ring preying on out-of-town visitors.
First Universalist, in keeping with core tenets of Unitarian Universalism, is committed to inclusivity and spiritual exploration. This is exemplified in its Vision statement: As Unitarian Universalists, our congregation is a mosaic of diverse generations, backgrounds and identities where we can bring all of who we are, and who we hope to become. Through arts, exploration, and justice, we cultivate possibilities, ministering with those who share the journey.
Its Mission statement proclaims that: We are a sanctuary for spiritual growth, community, and connections, building the world we dream about together.
Services are on Sundays at 10 a.m. To find out more, please visit https://firstuniversalist.org. The Senior Minister is Reverend Eric Banner.
Article submitted by Gene Drumm, First Universalist Church of Denver.
First Universalist is located at the corner of Hampden and Colorado Boulevard.
From the Advocacy Team
The first 10 years of ERPO
research, policy, and implementation
Under the leadership of Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, a new collection of articles was recently published in INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing. The collection highlights the first decade of research, policy development, and implementation experience related to Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs). It brings together leading researchers and practitioners to examine how ERPO laws are being implemented, factors associated with effective implementation, how their impacts are measured, and what the growing evidence reveals about their effectiveness in preventing violence.
Reina Doyle, Epidemiologist for the Office of Gun Violence Prevention was the guest speaker at the March Public Health Strategies Meeting on Zoom. Along with explaining the work of the OGVP, she introduced the ERPO education program for health care and mental health professionals. This free online training (see link to the right) shows professionals how to file an ERPO (Extreme Risk Protection Order) in the case of harm to self or others with a firearm. If granted it would allow for firearms to be removed from the home for a a short period and then for as much as 364 days, with a renewal possible.
From 2020-2024 478 ERPOS were granted for temporary removal of firearms. 371 were given final approval. ERPOS were filed due to threats to others, to self and both.
Reina encouraged everyone to refer to the Office of Gun Violence Prevention Resource Bank and Toolkit. (Please see the links associated with this article.)
All the Empty Rooms:
A Powerful film by Steve Hartman
So much of our work depends on visibility. We got a huge boost in that respect when All the Empty Rooms, a 35-minute Documentary Short Film showing the impact of the deaths of four students killed in school shootings received an Academy Award this year.
News correspondent Steve Hartman worked for numerous years at CBS, providing the short “good news” items that close out many news programs, until he realized he was doing a disservice by ending broadcasts on a positive note. Using his own funds and not telling CBS of his intentions, he and photographer Lou Bopp worked over a seven-year period interviewing families of school shooting victims. Four agreed to have their stories shared in the finished product.
Hartman and Bopp visited the families, learning about the victims and taking film of their bedrooms. Families related memories and favorite items of their children, as well as ways they’ve dealt with these tragic losses…never turning the lights off in their child’s bedroom, not replacing the cap on a toothpaste tube. All mentioned feeling comfort being near the scent of their child and taking solace in their rooms. The film does an excellent job of humanizing the victims in what could otherwise be shrunk to “numbers” and showing that these rooms are now sacred spaces for those families.
1999, when the Columbine shooting occurred, there were 17 school shooting deaths. The last year we had that few shootings was 2016. CFCU and other gun violence groups have helped pass some legislation to lessen these numbers, but there is still a long way to go…what can we do?
Watch this 35-minute Netflix documentary and have a brainstorming discussion around it at your church.
Push for “smart guns,” using pre-established fingerprint and facial recognition techniques like cell phones do for access…check out Biofire.com (in Broomfield) for ideas.
Be an educated common sense gun law advocate…learn.
Don’t give up!
Article submitted by Melody Connett, Our Savior's Lutheran Church
We are CALLED TO ACT to prevent gun violence! Each one of us can take action in our daily lives to help prevent gun violence by simply raising awareness among those in our faith community and within our personal networks. This month let’s leverage the publicity surrounding the Academy Award-winning documentary “All the Empty Rooms” by hosting Movie Nights.
In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings. Note the filmmaker's statement that “we’d be a different America” if everyone could stand in one of those bedrooms.
Do your part to create a different America by making plans now to show this 35-minute documentary to friends and family in your home and/or by planning a special showing for those in your CFCU Member Congregation. The film is available to stream on Netflix or you can access it on the Roku Channel to play for free with ads.
Please email Cheryl Fleetwood at membership@cfcu-co.org if you host a movie night so the CFCU Outreach & Engagement Action Team can be aware of concrete ACTIONS taken by those in our community!
Article submitted by Cheryl Fleetwood, Central Presbyterian Church.
Please download and print this flyer! Post it in your favorite coffee shop, library or rec center! Help us get the word out and save lives.
CFCU is a financial sponsor of Guns to Gardens and you can be too! Click on the link below to donate.
Tuesday, April 21: 1 - 3 PM: Steering Committee Meeting on Zoom. For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
Thursday, April 23: 9- 10 AM: Communications Meeting on Zoom. For more information, please contact Daryl Foelske to confirm. (dfoelske@gmail.com)
Wednesday, April 29: 1 PM: Outreach and Engagement Meeting on Zoom. For more information, please contact Cheryl Fleetwood (membership@cfcu-co.org)
Tuesday, May 5, 2 pm. Advocacy Team meeting on Zoom. For more information, please contact Stephanie at advocacy@cfcu-co.org
Saturday, May 9: 10 AM - 12 PM: Guns to Gardens Safe Disposal Event. Most Precious Blood Catholic Church, 2200 S. Harrison St, Denver
Wednesday, May 20: 10:00 - 11:30 AM:Public Health Strategies Meeting on Zoom. For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
