The Rev. Frank Pomeroy is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He was away from his congregation when a gunman entered the church and killed 25 people.

The Rev. Eric S.C. Manning is the pastor of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., the site of a 2015 mass shooting. He has served in this role since June 2016.

Carl Chinn offers security training for churches and other faith-based organizations. He is the author of Evil Invades Sanctuary: The Case for Security in Faith-based Organizations.

The Rev. James E. Atwood is a retired Presbyterian pastor who serves on the board of The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. He is the author of America and Its Guns: A Theological Expose and Gundamentalism and Where It Is Taking America.

Jamie Aten is founder and executive director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College. He is an expert on religious responses to public emergencies, including hurricanes and mass shootings. Aten is also a founding signer of the Prayers and Action petition, which calls on the evangelical Christian community to do more to address gun […]

The Rev. Gerry Taillon is the national ministry leader for the Canadian National Baptist Convention. After Canada legalized recreational marijuana, he called for churches to be more vocal about the dangers of drug use.

Alison Mather is the director of Quaker Action on Alcohol & Drugs, a British organization dedicated to addressing alcohol and drug abuse, as well as related policies, from within the Quaker tradition.

Eric E. Sterling is the executive director of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, which advocates for drug policy reforms. From 2013 to 2017, he served on the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission and helped author the state’s medical marijuana regulations. Sterling has written about Quaker teachings and drug law.