St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral
At an upcoming Harrisburg event, community members will come together to promote peace.
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral will host “PA Prays: Forging Justice and Peace out of Violence” on Sept. 18 with the goal of inspiring unity and advocacy.
“The level of gun violence in Harrisburg this year is astounding,” said Rev. Amy Welin of St. Stephen’s. “We are inviting people to put legs on their prayers and do something about this.”
According to Welin, the event is an interfaith gathering, open to those of all religions or of no religion.
In a unique demonstration at 1 p.m., James E. Curry, a blacksmith with the nonprofit Swords to Plowshares, will reconfigure guns into gardening tools and jewelry. Curry, from Connecticut, works with police departments to collect firearms taken off the streets or gathered through gun buyback programs. He then transforms them and donates or sells the pieces.
Following the demonstration, at 4 p.m., there will be readings from religious texts, music by a community choir, prayer, memorial candle lightings and discussion on ways to advocate for safety through public policy.
Harrisburg artist Vivian Sterste will also organize a community mural project for the event. She plans to provide a large canvas and paint supplies for community members and other local artists to create a mural around the themes of gun violence and peace. The mural will then travel around to city churches interested in displaying the work for a period of time.
“I’m extremely thrilled that there will be an interfaith coalition that will be addressing this issue,” Sterste said. “I just want to encourage people. It’s about spreading hope.”
St. Stephen’s is one of five episcopal dioceses in the state that will take part in prayer services responding to gun violence on Sept. 18. Harrisburg’s cathedral took the lead in starting “PA Prays” and encouraging the other four dioceses to join, according to Welin. This is the first year of the event.
“Our humanity binds us,” Welin said. “This is an opportunity for us to be human together. I’m looking forward to being with our neighbors.”
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral is located at 221 N. Front St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website.
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