Dozens of people spent the better part of an hour Saturday praying in the streets of east Columbus for an end to the shootings that have plagued the city since the start of the new year.
The prayer walk, organized by Kingdom Vision International Church pastor R.J. Matthews, drew more than 50 people to the East Columbus gym Saturday. The group met briefly at the gym, then launched into a prayer walk along nearby streets.
The event was a response to the spate of violent crimes that have hit Columbus since the beginning of the year. Seven reported shootings — one of which was fatal — have occurred since New Year’s Day.
Before the prayer walk began, Matthews told attendees that their answer to the violence should be to pray for peace.
“Our answer is not coming outside with our guns,” Matthews said. “We let the police force do what they are trained, certified, licensed and authorized to do. What we are authorized to do is learn how to fight in the spirit and say, ‘God, in our city, that won’t happen. You are the Lord of our city — you’re going to reign over this city and we’re going to see peace happen.'”
Saturday’s prayer walk was the first of its kind. Matthews said others may be organized. He later told The Dispatch that another one for the Northside is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday starting from the parking lot across from Hunt Intermediate School.
Several government officials, including Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens, Ward 2 Councilman Marty Turner, District Attorney Scott Colom and Interim Columbus Police Department Chief Fred Shelton, attended the prayer walk.
Shelton, who has spoken repeatedly about the need for police-community interaction to heal the divide between citizens and officers, said Saturday’s event marked a step along the way to fixing things.
“This Thursday (at a community hearing about the shootings) we were talking about the whole community coming together,” Shelton said. “This is the church community stepping forward and actually making that happen.”
The route
The prayer walk started at East Columbus Gym on Lawrence Drive. From there, it went north onto Maple Street, then west on Forrest Boulevard to the McCrary Road intersection. The walk then turned back east on Forrest Boulevard until it turned south onto Beech Street. It continued along to take Maple Street South until it turned north onto Poplar Street, then west again on Maple Street and back onto Lawrence Drive.
As the walk progressed, the group moved through several prayer points — praying for the peace of Columbus; for families, youth and children; for the city’s economic prosperity; for justice; for city leadership; and for the educational system.
Cleopatra Jones, a Columbus resident and member of Kingdom Vision International Church, said she felt like it was part of her duty as a citizen to participate in the prayer walk. She said she knows someone whose son was shot recently.
Jones has lived in Columbus for more than 20 years. She used to live in Chicago, and some of the recent violent trends in Columbus troubled her.
“This has never been that kind of place,” she said in reference to the recent crime. “I’m from Chicago and I grew up in a really hard area. I never thought that in Columbus, those types of activities would happen. Now that that’s starting just a peek of that, I don’t want to see it. I don’t want to see that in our city.”
After the event, Matthews said he was very happy with the turnout. He also thanked city leaders for joining the walk.
“It means a lot and it speaks volumes of their concern for the community and their personal commitment to Christ and understanding that while they’re in position, God is on the throne,” Matthews said. “I’m grateful to have leaders who love our city.”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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