I Don't Like Mondays: America’s Mass Shooting Crisis

Today we turn our attention to the alarming persistence of mass shootings in the United States, which now occur at a level never seen before. We reflect upon recent incidents, causes, and the broad impacts on victims, families, and communities. We question why the USA stands out among all nations as seeing so many tragedies, and why civilian gun ownership in the States constitutes almost half the world total. As always, we suggest guided intentions, prayers, and practical focus areas for collective healing and advocacy. Intentions and prayers start at 25 minutes. Suggested Intention Focus for this week This week, as we take stock of the shocking prevalence of mass shooting events in the US, we suggest holding as our main intention: We will that educators, community leaders and legislators across all US states will have wisdom to guide policy, advocacy and teaching that will support nonviolence and significantly reduce or eliminate gun violence, while respecting and winning the support of those who continue to strongly advocate for their Second Amendment right to defend themselves. Please join us in holding this. Chapter markers: 00:00:00                                       Introduction 00:01:36                                       The Reality of Mass Shootings 00:06:55                                       Why Are Mass Shootings Prevalent in the USA? 00:12:11                                       The Role of Gun Ownership 00:17:01                                       Factors Behind Mass Shootings 00:19:25                                       Impact on Victims and Families 00:22:16                                       Community Responses and Healing 00:24:28                                       Intentions and Prayers Note: This episode’s title refers to the 1979 Boomtown Rats song ‘I don’t like Mondays,’ about the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego of the same year. Sources referenced in this episode: https://andovernewton.yale.edu/resources/worship-resources-response-recent-mass-shootings https://apnews.com/article/michigan-church-shooting-gunman-mormons-e607d854e8f198aaaefbf604c6c6f422 https://cofchrist.org/usa-church-news/statement-on-recent-gun-violence/ https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons#:~:text=The%20United%20States%2C%20with%20less%20than%205,by%20the%20Switzerland%2Dbased%20Small%20Arms%20Survey%20(2018) (cites the 2018 Small Arms Survey) https://edition.cnn.com/us/mass-shootings-2025-vs-past-years-dg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2025 https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-eight-executive-orders-in-response-to-el-paso-and-odessa-shootings https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gun-control+nra#:~:text=Safety%20groups%20warn%20that%20former,June%202022 https://katv.com/news/nation-world/happening-today-funeral-for-3-fallen-pa-police-officers-northern-york-county-regional-police-detective-cody-becker-mark-baker-isaiah-emenheiser-north-codorus-township-service-procession-burial https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2015/12/4/9850572/gun-control-us-japan-switzerland-uk-canada https://nationalcouncilofchurches.us/common-witness/ncc-resolution-on-rampant-gun-violence-and-mass-shootings/ https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/public-mass-shootings-database-amasses-details-half-century-us-mass-shootings https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10435045/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8202016/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35261394 https://rockinst.org/blog/public-mass-shootings-around-the-world-prevalence-context-and-prevention/ https://rockinst.org/gun-violence/mass-shooting-factsheet/ https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=honorscollege_ehc https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-mass-shootings-texas-ohio/ https://whyy.org/articles/governors-diverge-gun-control-school-security-efforts/ https://www.alfred.edu/about/news/studies/lethal-school-violence/why-do-shootings.cfm https://www.americanprogress.org/article/religious-organizations-are-integral-to-the-fight-against-gun-violence/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41488081 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57743694 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64377360 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/26/world/us-gun-culture-world-comparison-intl-cmd https://www.forthepeople.com/blog/who-blame-mass-shootings/ https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/statement-governor-kathy-hochul-97 https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/incident/3317532 https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/insights-blog/acting-data/gun-violence-united-states-outlier https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/red-flag-laws-get-little-use-even-as-mass-shootings-gun-deaths-soar https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/05/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-us/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020138323004254 https://www.theiacp.org/after-action-review https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-responds-to-days-of-mass-shootings https://www.vox.com/23142734/apalachee-georgia-school-shooting-gun-violence Join us in person for intention holding:   https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/events-1 Labyrinth Activist Network Zoom calls   https://insighttimer.com/cliverj Daily intention holding with Clive on Insight Timer.   Our websites:    www.heartfulimpact.com/   Our show website.   https://globalhealingresponse.com/ Global Healing Response ~ Offers a wealth of prayers, suggested practices and prompts in response to environmental catastrophe, conflict, and other world events.   https://www.legacylabyrinthproject.org/ Legacy Labyrinth Project ~ Creating global energetic connections through the labyrinth; inspiring active intention sending using the labyrinth via labyrinth activism.   https://www.clivejohnsonministry.com/ Clive Johnson Ministry ~ Events and offerings aimed at building beloved community, including weekly energy holding vigils and Power of Eight group.   https://insighttimer.com/cliverj ~ Daily intention holding.   Impact! Is presented by Ellen Bintz and Clive Johnson. It is produced by Impact Productions.   Our show content is hosted by Podbean and available from all major podcast platforms.   Our theme music is by Chris Collins. indiemusicbox.com.   Our logo artwork is by AltoClassic (Getty Images/istock).   Contact us via Facebook Messenger from the Impact! Facebook group, or using any of the contact methods mentioned on our websites.   Impact! www.heartfulimpact.com.