Community comes together in prayer

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It started with a simple text message and a state of mourning.

Kim Johnson and several friends were texting about the tragic shootings that took the lives of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and five Dallas police officers last week, she said.

“As more of us started adding others to it, we realized that we didn’t know what to do or where to go,” Johnson said. “No one had the right answer. No one was stronger than the other. When you don’t have the right answer, what do you do? You go to God in prayer.”

Johnson joined more than 100 others in doing just that on Friday at J.C. Britton Park in Manning, where those of all backgrounds and ethnicities came together to pray for Clarendon County, for each other and for the nation.

It was one of two such prayer services held over the weekend, with the second on Sunday at Clarendon Baptist Church in Alcolu.

“It was borne out of heartache and grief,” said Clarendon Baptist Pastor Mike DeCosta. “For one thing, as a pastor, I sense that we are kind of losing our way. That just hurts my heart. As a human being, my heart grieves for those families in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and in Minnesota and in Dallas. All of these episodes were horrific. When someone draws their last breath, someone steps into eternity, and our heart breaks.”

The Rev. Sharon Mallette opened prayer at Friday’s ceremony, which had no program, no speaker and no agenda, other than bringing the community together before God.

“We are gathered here tonight in spite of the recent tragedies that have happened in our nation,” Mallette said. “We still know that You, God, are in control of everything. We all need each other, God. We all make a difference in this community of Clarendon County. We need to display love among each other, Lord, with unity and faith and strength. We need to lift our brothers and sisters up.”

Mallette cited II Chronicles 7:14 in asking God to heal the nation.

“You say, ‘If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land,’” Mallette said. “We are humbling ourselves before you tonight. We’re praying for answers. We’re praying for relief. We’re praying for comfort for those families that have been struck by these recent tragedies.”

Mallette was referencing three tragic shooting incidents, all within days of one another, in the first week of July, the first of which involved 37-year-old Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot several times after being tackled to the ground by two white Baton Rouge police officers. That incident was recorded by multiple bystanders, setting off outrage throughout the country.

Less than 24 hours later, St. Anthony, Minnesota, police officer Jeronimo Yanez fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop. Castille’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, recorded the incident and later uploaded the video to social media.

The following night, as Black Lives Matters activists held a protest in downtown Dallas, Texas, a sniper opened fire, killing five police officers, while injuring nine others and two civilians.

The killer, Micah Xavier Johnson, was identified as an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran who was reportedly angry over police shootings of black men. He said before his death that he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers.

Officers killed included Sgt. Michael Smith, 55, a former Army Ranger; Sr. Cpl. Lorne Ahrens, 48; Officer Michael Krol, 40; Officer Patrick Zamarripa, 32, a former Navy sailor and Iraq War veteran; and Officer Brent Thompson, 43, a former Marine

Both Friday’s and Sunday’s local prayer services saw the presence of multiple law enforcement officers.

Lt. Sonia Daniels said the day after the Dallas shooting was the first day she woke up since she became an officer and she was afraid.

“I contemplated not putting my badge on,” she said. “But I remembered that God called me to a duty, and I will continue to do it faithfully. I’m going to be the example that I want to see in this world.”

April Simmons Evans said that she was initially scared to come out Friday.

“With the Dallas shooting and the anniversary of the Emanuel church shooting having just passed, I was scared,” she said. “Before I left my house, I told my husband where I was going, because I was scared and didn’t know what might happen.”

Evans, the wife of a man studying to be a pastor, said she struggles with her faith, but that Friday’s prayer service bolstered her devotion to God.

“My husband is in seminary; he’s devoted to Christ,” she said. “My 6 year old tells me that God is with me. I kept seeing people that were afraid, like I was. And I remembered that God says, ‘I haven’t given you over to a spirit of fear.’ And in spite of everything we see around us, he is a good Father.”

Jordan Crossroads Ministry Center – Haven of Rest Director Ann Driggers said that God calls on us to treat others as we would treat ourselves.

“I think that if we had more of that, we would be better off,” she said. “Treating someone like you want to be treated brings better understanding.”

Andrews Police Department Chief of Police Kaynnera T. Capers, who serves as a local pastor, agreed.

“If you treat yourself right, and you try to treat others like you treat yourself, you know you’re going to treat them right,” he said. “If you love yourself, you’re going to treat your neighbor right.”

Capers closed Friday’s prayer vigil at J.C. Britton Park, saying that he hopes it is not the end of the community coming together.

“Prayer without action ain’t nothing,” he said. “Don’t you let one tragedy cause us to come together, and then we can’t speak to each other when we see one another in public. We’ve all got problems. Let’s pray for each other.”

Sen. Kevin Johnson attended Friday’s service, and told those gathered that they must vote in godly leaders in order to see a healing of the land. Capers agreed.

“Don’t complain when the devil is in office handling business for you, because you couldn’t be bothered to get out and vote,” he said. “They say that if you don’t get out and vote, you done voted. And that’s the truth. You have to exercise the right to vote. The lives of your children and your children’s children are dependent upon it. When you don’t take action, you’re handing everything over to the devil. Don’t talk about it. Be about it.”

DeCosta said Sunday’s service, similar to Friday’s, was a chance for the community to gather and “love on each other.”

“I want to make sure that we set the tone as the church; we should be setting the tone for the culture,” he said. “We need to love on our folks in government, love on our folks in law enforcement, love on those in our community.”

DeCosta told law enforcement officers gathered Sunday that the Lord calls them to be ministers.

“Romans says you are ministers,” he said. “The Lord uses you as ministers to protect and serve. Read Romans 13 sometime.”

Manning Mayor Julia Nelson spoke at Sunday’s service, saying that she felt personally in a state of mourning after last week’s tragedies.

“I heard a sermon (Sunday morning) at Antioch in Jordan; the message by Sam Livingston was ‘A Nation Falling Apart,’” Nelson said. “Jeremiah 7:17 says, ‘When the laws of the and go against the will and word of God,’ it will not be well with our souls. We have had several bills signed on a national level that go against God’s word. We have hardened our hearts against the word of God.”

Manning Administrator Scott Tanner prayed for the county’s public servants.

“We have a vital election about to take place in our country, and we pray that You will infiltrate the ranks of government,” Tanner said. “We want to see You on a national scale. When know that when we get together and pray in Your name, You will heal our land. We know You will do that.”

The Rev. Billy Carlisle prayed that God will unite the community for longer than it takes to get over last week’s tragedies.

“You are the Master of the universe,” he said. “You are so precious to us. You are worthy of our worship and our praise, but You are also worthy of our life devoted to you. And we thank You for all the men and women who were our community’s law enforcement officers and first responders. What a confusing time for them. There’s so much good they do every day, but we only hear the bad. We never want to take them for granted.”

Carlisle prayed that the church will “rise up and lead those looking where to turn to to Jesus Christ.”

“The church is the only one who can show what Jesus is all about,” he said.

The Rev. Kirk Carlisle asked those who were able to “prostrate themselves before the Lord.” Several in pews throughout the Clarendon Baptist sanctuary responded in kind, kneeling where they sat or going to the altar.

“We know we come with hearts that have been heavy,” Kirk said. “Our hearts are burdened, God, for what’s taking place in our country. We see so much tragedy, time and time again. This is not how you saved us to live. We see that the spirit of evil is real. It is moving. You have given us the answer. Jesus and Jesus alone can save and will heal and redeem us of our sin.”

The Rev. Elton “Pappy” Hilton prayed for race relations in the country.

“The circumstances under which we come together today are not as we desire,” he said. “But God has called the people to a time and a place that we would come back to him. We know that if we do, he will heal our land.”

Hilton said the country is in “a tragic time, a desperate time, a horrific time.”

“We encourage everyone to reach out to one another and to look into yourself,” he said. “This is a hate problem. It comes from the pit of hell. We understand that our only defense is looking up to Heaven.”

DeCosta and Johnson said the respective services will hopefully be the start of a continuing dialogue and effort for those with separate backgrounds to come together regularly.

“It is something that we hope to do again,” DeCosta said. “We can’t just get together once and then go our separate ways and expect results. We have to continue this struggle.”

Photos by Kedrick Johnson, Manning Mayor Julia Nelson and Robert J. Baker