City of Goldsboro Proclaims July 24th STOP the Funeral Initiative Unity Prayer Walk Day

The City of Goldsboro issued a proclamation naming July 24, 2010 Stop the Funeral Initiative Unity Prayer Walk Day. The walk will take begin at 8:00 AM at St. Mark Church of Christ, 700 West Ash Street and proceed through West Haven Apartments.
 
 
Prayer walk Header small
Prayer walk Header small
July 16, 2010 - PRLog -- GOLDSBORO – The City of Goldsboro has issued a proclamation naming July 24, 2010 as Stop the Funeral Initiative Unity Prayer Walk Day.  The walk will take begin at 8:00 AM at St. Mark Church of Christ, 700 West Ash Street and proceed through West Haven Apartments.  

The Stop the Funeral Initiative, formed shortly after a young lady was shot and killed at a funeral here in Goldsboro, is a collaborative effort of Rebuilding Broken Places CDC, The Goldsboro/Wayne Branch-NAACP, and the Wayne County Faith Community. The annual Unity in the Community Prayer Walk is designed to bring awareness to the issues of drug and gang violence, present the message of redemption and change, and pray for the community.  

Since Stop the Funeral Initiative began in April, 2007 the covenant partners and community leaders have been steadfast in their efforts to reach out to the community in an E.P.I.C. Call: Empowering, Praying for, providing Information to and Connecting with the community. It could be said that these efforts have had a positive impact on the community. Local crime statistics reveal that incidents of murder/ manslaughter in Goldsboro have dropped by nearly half since 2007.

Yet in just this last quarter, there have been two young people shot, one fatally, in Goldsboro. At the funeral of the young man that was killed, a question was raised.  

If asked to come out to support the efforts to help keep our young people alive and put and end to drug and gang violence, how many of you would come out?  But you'll come out to the funeral???  

“We can't let funerals be the only time these young people know that the faith community cares about them.  We MUST keep our resolve to bring the message of redemption and change to our community.” said Francine Smith, Program Manager for Rebuilding Broken Places CDC and event organizer.  

The initiative’s co-conveners, Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, NC NAACP President and Rev. Dr. Dwight B. Cannon, NC Religious Affairs Chair anticipate more than 40 Covenant Partner churches will participate at the walk.   Last year our prayer walk through Lincoln Homes was tremendous.  Reverend Michael Stephens, pastor of Christian Life MB Church and the walk’s pacesetter said of this year’s walk, “We will begin gathering at 7:30 AM in the parking lot of St. Mark Church of Christ and we will walk and pray for peace and an end to gang and drug violence throughout our city.”

“If the church doesn’t believe in redemption, then we might as well shut our doors. We can’t give-up on our communities or the young people in them. We must do what we can to reach them with the message that change is possible. Uniting in prayer is only the beginning.” said Rev. Dr. William Barber, II, co-convener of the Stop the Funeral Initiative.  

WMFC radio station has graciously agreed to partner with us for this walk and will do a live remote on that day. We are expecting all of our Covenant Partners to participate in the walk and to encourage their congregations to participate as well.  Walkers are asked to wear the Stop the Funeral T-shirt. Family and friends of Stacey Edwards are asked to wear their Stacey T-shirts.  In addition we are asking churches and other civic organizations to bring out their banners and t-shirts for this event.  

Our prayer focus for this walk is “A Wake-up Call-This Time IT IS Personal”.  The walk establishes the focus for preparation for the Drug Dealer Gang Member Redemption Conference in November.  During this conference, we reach out to those on the periphery of the gang and drug culture and assist them in making the choice for change, while offering them resources to facilitate that change.

Everyone is asked to come out and join us.  Volunteers are needed. Please contact the STOP The Funeral Office to volunteer or with any questions or concerns at 919 581-9178, or Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II at 919 735-9059.

# # #

A collaborative effort of RBPCDC, Goldsboro/Wayne Branch-NAACP, and the faith community united to be a catalyst for stopping drug and gang violence in Wayne County. Begun in April, 2007 after a homicide following a funeral at McIntyre’s Funeral Home
End
Source: » Follow
Email:***@gmail.com Email Verified
Zip:27530
Tags:Gang And Drug Violence, Prayer, March, Proclamation, Crime, Collaboration, Redemption, Education, Jobs
Industry:Education, Event, Non-profit
Location:Goldsboro - North Carolina - United States
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
Page Updated Last on: Jul 16, 2010
Rebuilding Broken Places CDC PRs
Trending News
Most Viewed
Top Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share