Celebrating 11 Years of Faith-Fueled ACTION to End Gun Violence!
January 2026 Digest
TK Smith, Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship left and Bill Young, 1st Congregational UCC, right, hand out ERPO and safe storage fact sheets and cable locks outside the Boulder Public Library on Dec. 6 and 7.
In this edition of the Digest:
A New Year Prayer for Hope
Take Action in 2026: a Monthly Guide to Things You Can Do to End Gun Violence
Make Your New Year's Resolutions with CFCU
CFCU Receives Grant from the Colorado Trust
Special Presentation by Eileen McCarron on Zoom on Jan. 20
From the Advocacy Team: News About the Upcoming Legislative Session
Mike Martin, Founder of RAWTools is featured on a podcast
November Financial Report
CFCU January Calendar
Fred Martin, of RAWTools shows a volunteer how to beat a piece of a firearm to turn it into jewelry, at the summer volunteer gathering of Guns to Gardens Metro Denver.
A New Year Prayer for Hope
O Holy One,
Let us have hope in this new year of 2026.
Let us hope for a year in which all children are safe at schools and at home…
Let us hope for a year in which all people walk streets, worship, shop or enjoy a movie without fear or threat…
Let us hope that 2026 will be a year in which families do not fear neighbors
And be the year in which countries do not take up weapons against one another.
May all people be safe and whole and unafraid.
May we work and live with others in friendship and peace
May we treasure one another and develop understanding.
May we beat our swords into plowshares
And during this year of 2026 may guns become gardening tools and our hearts be the soil of new life.
Amen.
Pastors Alice Horner-Nelson and Anne Scalfaro, of Calvary Baptist Church, invite attendees to add action to thoughts and prayers at the South Regional Meeting in September.
Take Action in 2026:
A Monthly Guide to Things You Can Do to End Gun Violence
-from CFCU Outreach and Engagement Team
The regional meetings have all taken place.
Across Boulder County, Central, South and West metro locations, in Colorado Springs, Summit County and Fort Collins, faith-fueled enthusiasm is building to createa future without gun violence!
The New Year is now laid out before us,
twelve months to add bold ACTION to our thoughts and prayers!
Resolution 5: Contact your Congressperson about HB38
This bill allows a person who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state to carry or possess a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in another state. The bill preempts most state and local laws related to concealed carry and establishes a private right of action for a person adversely affected by interference with a concealed-carry right established by this bill.
At the beginning of each new year many people make resolutions to do more, stop doing something, or to choose an activity that contributes to a better world. This year we invite you to take up a task that will reduce gun violence and support victims of gun violence. Here are some suggestions from the Public Health Strategies Action Team.
Resolution 2:
Inform a teach about ERPO Training for Educators
Help prevent school shootings by informing a teacher you know about the new ERPO (Extreme Risk Protection Order) Training Curriculum developed by the Colorado Attorney General's Office
Article submitted by Alana Smart, convener of Public Health Strategies Action Team and member of B'nai Havurah
CFCU Has Received
a Grant from the Colorado Trust
CFCU is pleased to announce that it has received a $2,500 grant from The Colorado Trust Staff Directed Contributions program. Their staff member learned about our work “while investigating organizations working to end gun violence in our state”. She was excited to read about our “collaborative effort between faith communities”. CFCU thanks The Colorado Trust for this grant. These funds will be used to expand our work to raise awareness about the impact of gun violence.
Article submitted by Rory Clawson, CFCU treasurer and member of Epiphany Lutheran
Please join us for this special Zoom presentation sponsored by CFCU:
This zoom talk will be presented by Eileen McCarron, Colorado Ceasefire Co-Founder and President of Legislative Action Board.
Please use this link to learn more about Ms. McCarron and her work with gun violence prevention.
From the Advocacy Team
The 2026 Legislative Session begins on January 14. We never know when the first gun-related bill will be introduced, but we’ll be watching for it and all other gun-related bills in the 2026 session. The Rapid Response Networks (RRNs) at CFCU’s member congregations are central to our advocacy work. The advocacy process looks like this:
After a gun-related bill is introduced into the Colorado House or Senate: As soon as we know the date of the legislative committee hearing for a bill that CFCU supports or opposes, we’ll email the Rapid Response Alert to the CFCU representative at each CFCU member congregation.
The representative will send the Alert to members of the congregation’s RRN. The Alert has all the information needed for RRN members to contact legislative committee members to express their support for or opposition to the bill.
That process repeats every time a gun-related bill is introduced into the Legislature’s House or Senate.
If your congregation doesn’t have a Rapid Response Network or you would like to expand your RRN, now is an ideal time to do it. The link below will take you to a PowerPoint about how to develop or grow an RRN at your congregation. Below that there is a link to a video recording of a webinar explaining the process of developing a Rapid Response Network.
Mike Martin, a friend of many of us who are part of CFCU, was recently featured on John Dear's weekly podcast The Nonviolent Jesus. During the podcast he explains his work of forging peace, working with Guns to Gardens, and healing those affected by violence. He is the co-author with Shane Claiborne, of the book Beating Guns: Hope for people who are weary of violence.
A Giant Thank You from CFCU
Many thanks to all of you who have donated to Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence during the 2025 Colorado Gives Campaign. If you would still like to support our mission for 2026, you can use the button below:
Monday, January 12: 4:30 - 7:00 PM: The 14th HIP Cohort begins, and runs through March 9 (excepting MLK and Presidents' Day holidays) For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
Wednesday, January 14: 1:30 PM: Advocacy Team meeting on Zoom. For more information, please contact Stephanie at advocacy@cfcu-co.org
Tuesday, January 20: 1-3 PM: Steering Committee Meeting on Zoom. For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
Thursday, January 22: 9- 10 AM: Communications Meeting on Zoom. For more information, please contact Daryl Foelske to confirm. (dfoelske@gmail.com)
Wednesday, January 28: 10:00 - 11:30 AM:Public Health Strategies Meeting on Zoom. For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
Sunday, March 22: 10 AM - 12 PM: Guns to Gardens Safe Disposal Event. Congregation Rodef Shalom, 450 South Kearney Street
