Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

From Bishop Ely: Why I’m Wearing Orange on June 2nd

5/17/2016

wearorangeIn December, I spoke at an Interfaith Prayer Vigil in Burlington called, “A Moral Call: People of faith confronting the tragedy of gun violence.” I asked the question, “how do we become our best self as a country in the midst of this current epidemic of gun violence?” 

I believe the answer begins by setting in motion a “spiral of peace” in our hearts and in our homes, and it starts now as we actively pursue all efforts to be instruments of God’s peace. It moves outward from there, circling family, neighbors, and our world community in compassion, education, awareness, and action, so that one day the vision offered by the prophet Isaiah when speaking about a restored Jerusalem might actually come to pass in our world; “Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013. Hadiya’s friends honor her every year on her birthday (June 2) by wearing orange, the color hunters wear to keep themselves safe. Wear Orange was created to make it easier for people to show their support for common sense solutions that will save lives. If you believe there’s more we can do to help end gun violence, I invite you to join me and my colleagues in Bishops United Against Gun Violence on June 2 and #WearOrange.

Other ways to get involved:


Leave a Reply

You may use: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

Copyright © 2019 – 2023 The Episcopal Church in Vermont.