Below is an article from the January 21, 2018, edition of the Grand Haven Tribune that mentions the ministry of our church.
With the apparent increase in gun violence in recent years, and the most recent mass shootings, people across the country have struggled with questions surrounding gun violence and whether anything could be done to make our communities safer.
To provide space for that conversation, St. John's Episcopal Church in Grand Haven is teaming up with the West Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to host a screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary "The Armor of Light."
A special selection at the Tribeca film festival, and an Emmy Award winner in the category of Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, the film follows an Evangelical minister and the mother of a teenage shooting victim who ask: Is it possible to be both pro-gun and pro-life?
The film will be show at the church, 524 Washington Ave., on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
The Rev. Rob Schenck is an anti-abortion activist and leader on the political far right who began questioning how his pro-life commitment was (or was not) connected to his pro-gun views. As he begins his journey, he meets Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teenager who was murdered in Florida, bringing national attention to that state’s “Stand Your Ground” laws.
As the filmmaker notes, “The film is also a courageous look at our fractured political culture and an assertion that it is, indeed, possible for people to come together across deep party lines to find common ground.”
“I am often the odd person out in these conversations,” said the rector of St. John’s Episcopal, the Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer. “I was raised in an NRA household, am a gun owner myself who enjoys shooting for sport and for hunting. At the same time, I have found myself concerned about our country’s seeming inability to do anything concrete to lower the incidence of gun violence. I am hopeful that this film, and the discussion that follows, will create a place for conversation that brings people together and charts a new path.”
The parish will host a time of fellowship and conversation with snacks beginning at 6:30 p.m. The movie will start at 7 p.m. and will include a brief break for pizza. You are asked to bring $5 if you want to share in the pizza.
The discussion after the film will be hosted by guest presenters from the West Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
You can let the parish know you will be attending online at https://tinyurl.com/armor-gh or by contacting the church office at 616-842-6260.
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