August 5, 2014 In the News
Seattle P-I: St. Mark’s Cathedral joins expanding religious support for gun control initiative
Joel Connelly writes on SeattlePI.com:
The parish of St. Mark’s Cathedral has endorsed Initiative 594, the November ballot measure to close the “gun show loophole,” signaling the most concerted, united public policy effort seen from the Seattle-area faith community in decades.
St. Mark’s, seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, was starting off point for an anti-gun violence march across Capitol Hill after the Newtown, Conn., massacre of 20 first-graders. The march to St. James Cathedral helped propel an effort by religious leaders that led to Initiative 594.
“St. Mark’s has always been politically oriented in its social justice work: It’s part of our DNA,” said the Rev. Steve Thomason, dean of the cathedral. ”The imprint of the name bears some credibility and import to the broader community, so we are very careful in how we use our name.”