Faith leaders from Wards 7 and 8 and across the District gathered at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Southeast D.C. to consider new ways to address the problem of crime and youth violence in the community.
The Rev. Joseph D. Turner, pastor of Mathews Memorial, hosted the Saturday, Dec. 8 the Ward 7 and 8 Joint Clergy and Faith Leaders Breakfast Meeting, which not only fed bodies, but souls. The meeting was billed as a breakfast, however far more than eggs and pastries were on the event’s menu.
“We have to ask ourselves. How much of what is going on is our responsibility,” said Raheem Jenkins, a veteran community activist. “The only time young people come to our church is for a funeral.”
The Rev. Delonte Gholston, pastor of Peace Fellowship Baptist Church, asked the crowd, “What would it look like for you? What would it look like for me, for us to build an ark that is big enough to hold all of us who are healing from the trauma and the pain?”
Phillip Pannell, executive director of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, has sponsored the monthly clergy meetings for a number of years. Pannell emphasized “there are nearly 200 churches in Wards 7 and 8, and collectively that can have a huge impact.”
“The first challenge is to get the pastors or their representatives in the room simultaneously,” Pannell said. “
During the meeting, church and community leaders broke into small groups to address various issues and ideas.
Pannell said that the December meeting is just the beginning of a process of curtailing youth violence. There will be many steps.
Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes said she was particularly interested in a part of the meeting where a group of clergy counseled D.C. teachers who have been overwhelmed with disrespectful youth. Barnes said the effort was welcomed because, “We can’t police ourselves out of this problem.”
The Rev George Gilbert Jr., pastor of the Holy Trinity United Baptist Church, told The Informer he would like to see churches return to the days when fellowship halls were filled with young people involved in Sunday schools or the junior usher board.
“We have to bring back some of the old ways and create new opportunities,” he said.
Gilbert Jr. followed in the steps of his father the Rev. George Gilbert Sr., who said the problem with youth violence is beyond the District borders.
“I wanted to see some kind of way to stop the guns from coming across the 14th Street bridge,” Gilbert Sr. told The Informer. “The problem is most of these guns are coming from Virginia.”
