Celebrating 11 Years of Faith-Fueled Action to End Gun Violence!
November 2025 Digest
In this edition of the Digest:
West Regional Meeting Builds Connections to Multiply Efforts
Support CFCU on Colorado Gives Day
Public Health Strategies hosts Sgt. Kevin Ford
Begin planning your Remembrance for all Victims of Gun Violence
News from the Advocacy Team
Boulder County News
St. Andrews United Methodist Hosts Guns to Gardens in December
A November Prayer for our Beloved Dead
CFCU November Calendar
2025 Regional Strategic Planning Meetings
West Regional Meeting
Builds Connections to Multiply Efforts !
Photos from the South Regional Meeting at Calvary Baptist Church,September 14.
Twenty-one people from three congregations in the CFCU's West Region gathered on Sunday afternoon, October 26 for great conversation and community building around the shared mission of ending gun violence. The meeting, hosted by Lakewood United Church of Christ, began with a reflection by Lakewood UCC pastor, Rev. Curtis Preston, and closed with a reflection by Rev. Rebecca Scull of Living Light of Peace in Arvada. Table discussions centered around congregational gun violence prevention work, what CFCU does well, and what we could could do better to improve our work and our reach. Each participant got to hear from one of the Action Teams, both give feedback and learn about the work of that team. Lakewood UCC members were wonderful hosts and there was plenty of food and also informative conversations.
Article submitted by Rita Niblack, Most Precious Blood Catholic Church
Colorado Gives Foundation is a community foundation with a mission to make good happen by connecting people, ideas and nonprofits.
Consider a donation to CFCU during this season of giving. If you donate through Colorado Gives during November or December, CFCU will receive an extra portion, based on the percentage of donations we receive, compared to the whole.
If you make your gift a monthly donation, Colorado Gives will match your gift up to $100. Your donation is used to help with the regular expenses of our work as well as providing programing and outreach. We are grateful for the many donors who keep our work growing.
Denver Police Department ERPO Presentation from 11:00 am -11:30
The Denver Police Department (DPD) files the most Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) in the state and has formed a special unit to increase its effectiveness. Sgt. Kevin Ford, who has headed this unit for two years and been a police officer for 18 years will make a special presentation about the unit’s work, successes and challenges with this potentially lifesaving tool that allows for the removal of guns from the home when an individual poses a risk to themselves or others. He will present via ZOOM at CFCU’s next Public Health Strategies Action Team meeting.
Contactpublichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org if you are not a member of the PHS Action Team and would like to receive the ZOOM link and agenda.
to honor all victims of gun violence this December.
On December 14, 2012, 20 children and 6 adult staff members and teachers died in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut. Since then we have remembered that horrific event and also honored all victims of gun violence during the month of December.
Here are some suggestions:
Marches, rallies, meet & greets, house parties, concerts, prayer services, educational forums, film screenings, or distribution of education materials. Please feel free to be creative!
Through a local vigil or a remembrance event, you can
Collaborate with allies in the gun violence prevention movement
Engage more people and encourage them to join our efforts
Watch for some CFCU resources in a special edition later this month.
From the Advocacy Team
The Colorado General Assembly will begin its 2026 session on January 14th. Between now and then would be a great time to create or expand your congregation’s Rapid Response Network (RRN).
If you’re not familiar with RRNs, here’s a brief description of what they do and the key role they play in CFCU’s advocacy work: When a gun-related bill is introduced into the Colorado Legislature, and a legislative committee hearing date is announced, the Advocacy Team prepares a summary of the bill, a few talking points, and contact information for legislative committee members. Called a Rapid Response Alert, it’s sent to a member of your congregation who has volunteered to be CFCU’s advocacy contact. That individual will send the alert to the list of congregants who have expressed an interest in being in the congregation’s RRN so that they can contact committee members to express their views on the bill prior to the committee hearing.
For more information: contact Stephanie Greenberg, advocacy@cfcu-co.orgor click on this link:
Young Adults Fear Mass Shootings but Don't Necessarily Support Gun Control
A recent study led by CU Boulder Associate Professor of Sociology Jillian Turanovic found that when it comes to opinions about gun control, young adults aged 18 to 29, the age group dubbed the “massacre generation,” are deeply divided. A survey of a racially representative national sample of nearly 1,700 adults in that age group asked respondents to rank their degree of fear that they or a loved one will be a victim of a mass shooting in general and in specific settings. Forty-four percent scored in the range of “moderate fear” and an additional 17% scored in the “high fear” range. Fifty-eight percent said that owning a gun does not make you safer, and 42% said that it does. Overall, those who feared mass violence more had modestly higher support for gun control. But this pattern did not hold true for Republicans, conservatives, and men. The more they feared mass shootings, the more they viewed expanded access to guns as a solution. The researchers concluded that emerging adults today are divided in their gun control sentiment, and those divisions are most pronounced when fear of mass shootings runs high.
Articles submitted by Stephanie Greenberg, Congregation Bonai Shalom.
Decline in Violent Crime
in U.S. Cities
An analysis of police crime data in 30 American cities by the Council of Criminal Justice (CCJ) showed that violent crimes are now below levels seen in the first half of 2019, the year prior to the onset of the COVID pandemic. On average, there were 14% fewer homicides in the study cities in the first half of 2025 than in the first half of 2019. Similarly, reported cases of aggravated assault (-5%), gun assaults (-4%), sexual assault (-28%), domestic violence (-8%), robbery (-30%), and carjacking (-3%) were lower in 2025. However, while all sample cities are now below the general peak of 2020 to 2021, only 38% are below pre-2020 levels. Among the 29 cities with complete homicide data between the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2025, Colorado Springs saw the largest increase in homicide (94%), and Baltimore had the greatest decrease (56%). Denver had the fifth greatest decrease (31%). Between the first halves of 2024 and 2025, Denver showed the greatest decrease in homicide, 45%, and Colorado Springs had the smallest decrease, 1%.
A related article in The Trace noted that with federal funding sunsetting and grants to community organizations not being renewed, experts and community members fear this nationwide movement in a positive direction may be reversed.
Dr. Tina Pittman Wagers is a professor at CU Boulder Departments of Psychology and Neurobiology and a leader in Boulder MOMS Demand Action. She will speak on Youth, Mental Health, and Suicide. This talk is open to the community.
Boulder Rotary Club Holds Successful Firearm Safe Storage Giveaway
The Boulder Rotary Club held a gun lock and safe giveaway on October 18th in the parking lot of Boulder Community Hospital. A total of 260 home safes, 250 car safes and 150 cable locks were given out. People were lined up at 7:30 AM for the 9 AM event, and the volunteer team ran out of everything in under 30 minutes!
Funding came from Rotary Club members, friends, and family members. Boulder Community Health also provided funding, as well as marketing expertise and promotion to its mailing list of over 140,000. Cable locks were donated by Intermountain Health. CFCU promoted the event, and CFCU volunteers were among the 60 volunteers who helped the event run smoothly.
Since 2022, 2,640 safes and 1,584 cable locks have been given out at Boulder County community events with the goal of reducing firearm suicide, accidents, and homicides.
Submitted by Constance Holden, Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, who chaired this event. For more information, please contact Constance at: cholden@icloud.com
Veterans Day Safe Storage Event in Longmont
November 11 from 12 - 2 pm
Roosevelt Park (700 Longs Peak Ave)
On Tuesday November 11, a Veterans Day Safe Gun Storage Event will be held in Longmont, 12-2pm, following the annual Veterans Day parade. There are still slots available for volunteers to help with setup, giveaway tasks, cleanup and even to march in the parade itself! Two hundred home safes and two hundred vehicle safes will be available to give out, so our volunteer ranks need to be robust.
If you have questions, please contact Ann Noonan, Longmont-area Gun Violence Reduction Team, at 303.684.0744.
If you or any family members have an unwanted firearm that you would like to be rid of, consider inviting them to bring their unloaded gun to be disposed of safely.
If you would like to support our effort, please download and print this sign and take it to merchants and friends in. your neighborhood.
Two Opportunities to Learn
If you missed Tom Mauser's presentation on Having a Conversation with Gun Advocates you can watch the recording by clicking the link below.
As many faiths honor their saints and loved ones who have died, during this time of year, we think of those who have died from gun violence. Many of us know someone personally, who died because of a gun. We think of those whose names were known nationwide in a school shooting, and we think of those whose names were not as well known, but our hearts break just the same.
We encourage you to light a candle as you read this prayer.
Eternal One, Divine Spirit-
Give peace to those of us who miss our loved ones.
May we be comforted knowing they now dwell in the great mystery and presence of the Almighty.
May we be comforted that they leave a legacy behind and are never forgotten.
We think of those we have lost to gun violence and say their names out loud.
Say the name of a loved one or a person you know who has died from gun violence.
May we be comforted knowing that they are a beloved child of the Divine. And may we be comforted by knowing that the work we do today brings awareness and honor to their life that was cut short. May we never tire of working to end gun violence until our work is no longer needed. Amen.
Rev. Alice Horner Nelson, Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church of Denver
CFCU is a project of Colorado Nonprofit Development Center. Donations, grants and dues payments are tax deductible.
Wednesday, November 19: 10:00 - 11:30 AM:Public Health Strategies Meeting on Zoom. For more information please contact Alana Smart (publichealthstrategies@cfcu-co.org)
Thursday, November 20: 11 AM -12 PM: Communications Meeting on Zoom. For more information please contact Daryl Foelske (dfoelske@gmail.com)
Wednesday December 3, 1:30 PM. Advocacy Meeting on Zoom.For more information, please contact Stephanie: advocacy@cfcu-co.org
Sunday, January 25: 2- 5 pm:CFCU Leadership Retreat and Strategic Planning Meeting
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Colorado Faith Communities United to End Gun Violence, P.O. Box 18770, Denver, Colorado 80218, USA
