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| At one church, neighborhood combating violence requires prayer and footwork | At one church, neighborhood combating violence requires prayer and footwork |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| During my earliest years as a churchgoing child, my belief about God was that He took old people to heaven. And He told Santa about the bad things my parents had not caught me doing. | During my earliest years as a churchgoing child, my belief about God was that He took old people to heaven. And He told Santa about the bad things my parents had not caught me doing. |
| That’s all I needed to know. Or even wanted to. | That’s all I needed to know. Or even wanted to. |
| Such a cavalier fantasy about spiritual matters is a luxury some of our children in the nation’s capital cannot afford. | Such a cavalier fantasy about spiritual matters is a luxury some of our children in the nation’s capital cannot afford. |
| At New Zion Baptist Church in Southeast Washington on Sunday, the sermon was about how youngsters could use God’s power to help stop violent crime in the neighborhood. | At New Zion Baptist Church in Southeast Washington on Sunday, the sermon was about how youngsters could use God’s power to help stop violent crime in the neighborhood. |
| Of the 20 or so congregants at the small church, about half were children. And they were all ears. No talking. No texting. No gaming. No nodding. This was about more than staying spiritually fit. This was about staying alive. | Of the 20 or so congregants at the small church, about half were children. And they were all ears. No talking. No texting. No gaming. No nodding. This was about more than staying spiritually fit. This was about staying alive. |
| “The enemy is using anything and anybody, even children, as tools for tearing things apart,” said Pastor Major L. Certain. “We can’t fight this battle by ourselves. Guns and knives don’t work. We need something greater than those little instruments, something greater inside of ourselves.” | “The enemy is using anything and anybody, even children, as tools for tearing things apart,” said Pastor Major L. Certain. “We can’t fight this battle by ourselves. Guns and knives don’t work. We need something greater than those little instruments, something greater inside of ourselves.” |
| I never had to wrangle with such a hefty message as a child. Then again, there had been no need to. Nobody would shoot a 3-year-old boy or a 6-year-old girl in the neighborhood where I grew up. | |
| But somebody did just that in the District last year. | But somebody did just that in the District last year. |
| Fortunately those children survived the drive-by shooting that left them with bullet wounds in the foot. Other children in the District have not been as lucky. | Fortunately those children survived the drive-by shooting that left them with bullet wounds in the foot. Other children in the District have not been as lucky. |
| Last year, it was 15-year-old Maurice Scott, shot and killed trying to avoid gunfire intended for someone else. And then 11-year-old Karon Brown was shot and killed trying to flee a dispute at a gas station. | |
| And on it went — 166 killings last year, including 12 children, and at least as many more shot and wounded, according to D.C. police. But don’t be misled by those annual homicide counts. Violence has a cumulative effect. A 10-year old child growing up in the city’s most troubled neighborhoods has a decade of gun violence impacting his or her life — murdered and wounded friends, classmates, neighbors, relatives and strangers alike. | And on it went — 166 killings last year, including 12 children, and at least as many more shot and wounded, according to D.C. police. But don’t be misled by those annual homicide counts. Violence has a cumulative effect. A 10-year old child growing up in the city’s most troubled neighborhoods has a decade of gun violence impacting his or her life — murdered and wounded friends, classmates, neighbors, relatives and strangers alike. |
| Killings in District reach decade high as leaders struggle to reduce gun violence | Killings in District reach decade high as leaders struggle to reduce gun violence |
| What a yeoman’s task some of these children face. Who will protect them when parents can’t, police can’t, and the community can’t? Other frightened kids just like them step in. Suddenly they have a crew — and some guns. | What a yeoman’s task some of these children face. Who will protect them when parents can’t, police can’t, and the community can’t? Other frightened kids just like them step in. Suddenly they have a crew — and some guns. |
| Pastor Certain would have them believe that God is able. She is a native of Mississippi with a motherly manner. Not to mention an unusual name. The younger children call her “Maw Maw.” | Pastor Certain would have them believe that God is able. She is a native of Mississippi with a motherly manner. Not to mention an unusual name. The younger children call her “Maw Maw.” |
| To kick off the first Sunday of the new year, she held what the church bulletin called “an urgent vigil” that featured “praise dancing and shouting to end violent crime in the neighborhood and for peace with Iran.” | To kick off the first Sunday of the new year, she held what the church bulletin called “an urgent vigil” that featured “praise dancing and shouting to end violent crime in the neighborhood and for peace with Iran.” |
| Bringing the peace — in Southeast and the Middle East. If that struck her congregation as a bridge too far, they sure didn’t show it. And, of course, she wasn’t the only religious leader calling for calm, just one taking her message to the streets. | Bringing the peace — in Southeast and the Middle East. If that struck her congregation as a bridge too far, they sure didn’t show it. And, of course, she wasn’t the only religious leader calling for calm, just one taking her message to the streets. |
| Pope Francis made his 2020 plea for peace from a balcony at the Vatican. Others had sermonized on the subject through social media. | Pope Francis made his 2020 plea for peace from a balcony at the Vatican. Others had sermonized on the subject through social media. |
| “ ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ Matthew 5:9 #NoWarWithIran #PrayForPeace,” tweeted theologian Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons. | “ ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ Matthew 5:9 #NoWarWithIran #PrayForPeace,” tweeted theologian Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons. |
| Shane Claiborne, another well-known Christian activist, tweeted: “No war with Iran… or anyone else. #PrayForPeace.” | Shane Claiborne, another well-known Christian activist, tweeted: “No war with Iran… or anyone else. #PrayForPeace.” |
| But New Zion Baptist is right there with the people. | But New Zion Baptist is right there with the people. |
| Its house of worship was once a modest-sized house. It’s now been outfitted with a cross, pulpit and pews and sits at the edge of the Marshall Heights neighborhood near the District’s border with Prince George’s County. | |
| A lot of trouble occurs along that border. | A lot of trouble occurs along that border. |
| But Certain is the kind of pastor who walks the walk. And she wants her congregation to walk with her, including the children. | But Certain is the kind of pastor who walks the walk. And she wants her congregation to walk with her, including the children. |
| “If you know someone who has a family member that was killed by somebody who was driving by,” Certain said. | “If you know someone who has a family member that was killed by somebody who was driving by,” Certain said. |
| Some of the children nodded. | Some of the children nodded. |
| “If you know somebody who just wanted to show somebody the right way and lost their life because of it,” she said. | “If you know somebody who just wanted to show somebody the right way and lost their life because of it,” she said. |
| Another nod. | Another nod. |
| “If you know somebody who lost their life when a misunderstanding got out of hand . . .” | “If you know somebody who lost their life when a misunderstanding got out of hand . . .” |
| More nods. | More nods. |
| “Then what we are going to do next Sunday is go out into the neighborhood and connect with family members who have lost someone to violence, pray with them and for them,” she said. | “Then what we are going to do next Sunday is go out into the neighborhood and connect with family members who have lost someone to violence, pray with them and for them,” she said. |
| As a kid, I usually tried to be the first to get out of the church at the end of a service, change from my Sunday clothes into my play clothes then wander as far away from my house — and the Lord’s — as I could. | As a kid, I usually tried to be the first to get out of the church at the end of a service, change from my Sunday clothes into my play clothes then wander as far away from my house — and the Lord’s — as I could. |
| This time I waited as some of the youngest children got hugs from Pastor Certain, then walked out with them. | This time I waited as some of the youngest children got hugs from Pastor Certain, then walked out with them. |
| To read previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/milloy. | To read previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/milloy. |
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