Religious groups to join youths in Denver’s march

Young people across the country will march Saturday in solidarity with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors from Parkland, Fla., to declare that gun violence needs to end.

But students in Denver won’t be marching alone. Adults — many from faith communities — will join them.

And it won’t be for the first time. Historically, faith communities have fought on the front line of major social change ranging from abolition to the temperance movement.

“We believe that one of our functions as people of faith is to speak out when injustice occurs in the world and do what we can to fix it,” Rabbi Joseph Black said. “I don’t believe that God created me to sit back and just enjoy life. I believe I’m God’s partner in repairing a world that is broken.”

Black and members of Denver’s Temple Emanuel, a Reform (progressive) Jewish synagogue, will march Saturday in Denver. Some Temple Emanuel members will join the national march in Washington, D.C. Black wants to support the young people fighting against what he perceives as evil in our society.

“Idolatry (is the) worship of a thing over the holiness that’s inherent in every human being,” he said. “The taboo that many in

our government placed on the discussion of sane gun laws to me is idolatry.”

He said not everyone in his congregation feels the same way about gun control — but many do. And they aren’t the only religious community members to speak out on the issue.

Belong Church, a United Methodist congregation, will hold an event the night before the march to make signs and learn about ways to reduce gun violence. Regis University, a Jesuit school, is busing students to the march. And the Rev. Tammy Garrett-Williams, whose son is a Columbine High School shooting survivor, will kick off the rally’s speaker program.

Organized by the newly created organization Never Again Colorado, the march will start at 2 p.m. Saturday at Civic Center park. After a 40- to 60-minute rally, the crowd will march through downtown before returning to the park.

“There’s a lot of conversation in our churches around our young people, around schools and how to address gun violence. I think we’re still figuring out how to do that effectively,” said Karen Oliveto, bishop of the United Methodist Church’s Mountain Sky Area. “People of faith have a responsibility to engage in conversation in the public square.”

Black and Oliveto said they were motivated by both the horrors of gun violence, as well as the determination and bravery of young people who are standing up in an effort to cause change.

Religious communities have historically taken part in protests.

Different faith groups have long had specific causes they support. Members of the Catholic church and others come downtown every year to protest abortion. Members of Shorter AME, Denver’s oldest black church, have protested police violence and gentrification.

Several joined the Women’s March, and some are making plans to attend a march to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. — who was a Southern Baptist minister — in Washington, D.C.

“There’s a very long tradition that is not immediately something that people think about nowadays. Historically, most of the key changes in the history of the United States were led by religious communities,” said Daniel Justin, assistant director of the Institute on the Common Good at Regis University.

Abolition, women’s suffrage and the fight for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s were led by religious leaders — and in the case of civil rights, by black churches in particular.

To explain today’s disconnect from social movements and religion, Justin pointed to a sociology theory created by political scientist Robert Putnam of Harvard. The protests of the 1960s and early 1970s, many of which opposed the war in Vietnam, created a strong backlash. Those resistant to change sought home and comfort in certain religious communities.

A branch of socially and fiscally conservative Christianity became the religious voice of America, Justin said, muting the diverse voices of other faith communities.

But despite the disconnect, religious communities remained key members of social movements.

Justin said that’s likely because most religions, ranging from Christianity and Judaism to Buddhism and Islam — have two dimensions: a practitioner’s relation-

The rally will be held at Civic Center Park. Marchers will head north into downtown before returning to the park. Transportation: Regional Transportation District has additional buses and trains on standby to supplement regular weekend services if needed. Go to RTD-Denver.com. Lyft is offering up to $1.5 million of free rides across the nation, including in Denver. To claim the promo, RSVP to the rally at marchforourlives.com. Forecast: The forecast calls for sunshine and high temperatures in the low 70s. Organizers urge participants to wear sunscreen and bring water. ship to a higher power and participants’ obligations to humanity.

Because religious communities are often on the forefront of social causes, Justin said he wasn’t surprised many were preparing to take on gun violence. And the cause may need their support.

“If you look at any movement for social change, there has to be a broad-based coalition, and people of faith need to state that their values are paramount,” Black said.