CPTnet
May 1, 2004
CLEVELAND, OH: Proclaiming God's Peace
Praising God and proclaiming God's peace, the Peace and Justice Ministry
of Lee Heights Community Church (LHCC) held a peace witness against local
violence and recent State legislation pertaining to concealed weapons
onMonday, April 19, 2004.
Over forty people gathered in Public Square in downtown Cleveland to pray
and share the hurt experienced when a broken heart cries out because of an
act of violence.
The witness memorialized the following victims:D'Angela McLaurin, a member
of LHCC, who at age fourteen was murdered; LHCC member Beverly, who lost
her seventeen-year old son, Kareem Suber, when he was by a neighbor; Alan
Thomas, the seventeen-year old son of Dudley Thomas, also a member of
LHCC, who was murdered at school by a classmate; and Kevin Reid, murdered
by a gang when he was seventeen.
The group was composed members of the Cleveland CPT regional group,
members of LHCC, and Mennonite pastors from various states who were
participatingin an urban ministries conference that was held at Lee
Heights that weekend. Church members, pastors, and peacemakers walked the
downtownquadrant, carrying signs and boldly expressing the scriptures of
God that proclaim peace, unity, and nonviolence.
As one voice, the group stood as a peace witness against recent
legislation that made Ohio the 45th State to allow citizens to carry a
concealed weapon.The group offered their prayers and liturgy as a petition
to God to blanket the city with His guidance, mercy, compassion, and
healing. One sign summed up the prayers best: "God protect us from our
own foolishness."
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