Philadelphia DA & Mothers In Charge To Lift Up "Gun Violence Prevention" This Sunday @ Mother Bethel

Jan. 22, 2013 - PRLog -- Philadelphia, PA: One week after a good samaritan is gunned down during a robbery inside a South Philadelphia grocery store,  Mother Bethel AME Church is taking steps to end gun violence in our city and across the country.  Mother Bethel, located at 419 South 6th Street in Society Hill, is joining more than 100 congregations nationwide this week in marking “Gun Violence Prevention Sunday.” At Mother Bethel this Sunday January 27, 2013, during the 11am worship service, there will be a special memorial for victims of gun violence . Church and community members who have lost loved ones to gun violence are invited to attend, and bring an 8x10 photograph of that person for a special prayer for healing. Then at 1pm, immediately following the 11am worship service, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams will speak along with  Dorothy Johnson-Speight from Mother’s In Charge (www.mothersincharge.org) . The discussion will be moderated by Annette John-Hall, Metro Columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.  This event is free and open to the public. All who attend will learn about the problems of gun violence in our community and what can be done to stop it. Those in attendance who have lost loved ones to gun violence will have the opportunity to remember those victims and consider what response God calls us to do as people of faith.

Mother Bethel AME, the most historic African-American Church in the country, is hosting this “Gun Violence Prevention Sunday” in recognition of the life and work of Ida B. Wells. Wells was a distinguished journalist and newspaper editor who made her mark as a civil rights heroine by researching and publishing investigative reports on lynchings and their causes in the late 1800’s. “If Ida B. Wells were alive today, the focus of her investigative reporting would likely be on gun violence in our community” says Rev. Mark Tyler, Mother Bethel’s 52nd Pastor. “This Sunday, we’ll turn to God in prayer and conversation about how we are being called into action to the tragedy of gun violence.”

This Sunday’s “Gun Violence Prevention Sunday” is sponsored by Mother Bethel’s Local Organizing Committee of POWER (Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild www.powerphiladelphia.org ). POWER is affiliated with the national PICO Network (www.piconetwork.org) which organized the “Gun Violence Prevention Sunday” at more than 100 inter-faith congregations across the country.  For more information on Mother Bethel's “Gun Violence Prevention Sunday” this Sunday January 27, 2013, at 11am and at 1pm, contact the church at (215) 925-0616. All media inquiries should be directed to Leslie Patterson-Tyler via email at Leslie@TylerMadePR.com or (609) 247-2632.