YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Nothing sacred appears to be happening in the former Bottom Dollar parking lot on Glenwood Avenue.
But not Wednesday. On Wednesday, a group of city pastors and residents confiscated the parking lot and declared it sacred ground in their fight against violence in the city when they held a prayer vigil to launch a Stop The Violence campaign in the city.
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Rev. Kenneth Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church who helped organize the effort, said the goal was to reclaim the entire city as sacred ground.
Simon said prayer is necessary to overcome the violence that has sometimes gripped the city over the past two years. Two people have been killed and five others injured since Friday. So far this year, 56 people have been shot, 15 of them fatal, after a year 2020 in which 98 people were shot, including 27 of 28 murder victims.
Simon said the violence was a “spiritual battle” and it was time for the churches and others to take back the city.
“We are dealing with a violent spirit that has taken over the town of Youngstown, and we are here today to break that chain,” said Simon.
The vigil is part of an action that also prays and fasts for 70 days, 24 hours a day until August 31st. About 150 people attended the event on Wednesday.
Prayer walks are held in some of the neighborhoods hardest hit by violence, and church members across the city are encouraged to post signs in their neighborhoods and churches encouraging people to turn away from violence, as part of a neighborhood saturation campaign and for the Receiving the anti-violence message in every possible way.
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Churches are also expected to help resolve disputes, and mentors are sought who can provide positive role models to young people who are most likely to commit or become victims of violence.
Simon said the battle would not be won overnight, nor would it be won in a vacuum. He said it will take a concerted effort from churches and residents across the city to fight the violence and it must be an ongoing, ongoing event.
“It’s more than an event,” said Simon. “It has to be a sustained effort.”
Rev. Lewis Macklin, pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, reads from 2 Chronicles 7:14, where God tells people that if they humble themselves and seek Him through prayer, He will answer and heal.
“Youngstown is able to respond to that,” said Macklin.
One of the rally participants, Crystal Carpenter, who lives on the south side, said she was there because the violence is affecting neighborhoods and everyday life.
“There are gunshots and everyone is scared,” she said of her neighborhood. “We can’t live like that.”
Carpenter said she also believes that it takes an ongoing effort from several different churches and groups to make a difference.
“We have to stop it and we have to send a message,” said Carpenter.
Floyd Ellis Sr., who also lives on the south side, also attended the rally.
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“The violence, it just has to stop,” said Ellis. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
Ellis said he believed more jobs would help a lot.
“They won’t do anything unless they get a job here,” Ellis said.
Prayers were offered for victims of violence by Rev. James Bowie, pastor of the Greater Friendship Baptist Church. He said that Scripture says that God is a refuge, and he asked God to offer refuge to those who have lost a loved one or been injured by violence.
“A family needs you now, sir, to build them up,” Bowie said.
Rev. J. Dwayne Heard prayed for those who commit acts of violence and asked God to change their hearts. Rev. Derrick Anderson prayed and asked God for help to stop those who are thinking of taking revenge for a past deed that is fueling much of the violence in the city.
Prayers were also offered for first responders and city policemen, as well as for the mediators due to begin their training next month, for neighborhood safety, and for mentors.
Thanking the pastors and those in attendance, Police Chief Carl Davis said it has been heartbreaking to respond to crime scenes and to see so many young people victims of violence since he took office in January.
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He said gun violence was unacceptable and it was not the city he knew.
“It’s not Youngstown that we know and love,” said Davis.
Mayor Jamael Tito Brown also thanked those present and the pastors and said that he too had seen too many young people die and that changes were needed.
“Our babies are worth it,” said Davis.
Youngstown’s First Ward Councilman Julius Oliver did not speak, but said afterwards that where the prayer really needs to take place is the bar parking lots around 1:30 am because there and where there is a lot of violence.
