CPTnet
Cleveland: Lee Heights CPT Takes Prayers to the Streets
December 6, 2000
by Jacqui Rozier and Wanda Ngolo
"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4
CLEVELAND, OH -- The Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) of Lee Heights
Community Church ventured into The Flats, a section of old warehouses
converted into bars and nightclubs along the Cuyahoga River in downtown
Cleveland, armed with the most powerful weapons in the Christian arsenal --
PRAYER and the WORD OF GOD which is "quick and powerful and sharper than
any two-edged sword..." Hebrew 4:12a
Members gathered on Saturday, December 2, to pray for peace in The Flats
which has become the setting of frequent deaths and acts of violence. Last
month, outside a nightclub called the Mirage, a fight escalated into a
shooting which resulted in two deaths. "It is as if The Flats has rapidly
developed into a killing field and the fatalities continually increase,"
said Jacqui Rozier, a member of the Lee Heights church and participant in
CPT's peacemaker training at the :Lee Heights Church. "We may not have the
solution to the problem, but through prayer we bring the problem to the
"Problem Solver," she added.
The group carried out a simple liturgy in the main parking lot area of The
Flats which included traditional hymns, scripture reading (Psalms 122), and
prayers seeking protection and deliverance of the city. "As we grieve the
violence within our city we pray not only for the victims of senseless
violence but for the violence that resides silently in the hearts of all
humankind," said Lee Heights Peace Minister Henri Ngolo.
Singing "We Are Marching in the Light of God," the team then walked several
blocks to the Mirage nightclub where they placed white carnations and hung
signs proclaiming peace on the chain link fence. "In the name of Jesus we
stood victorious over the principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and
spiritual wickedness that is over Cleveland," proclaimed Lee Heights
pastor, Robin Miller.
Five Cleveland television networks and a radio station covered the event.
Later, a pastor in Madison, Ohio who saw the vigil on the news called to
thank the church for their efforts. His 21-year-old son was killed in The
Flats last summer.
CPT is a project of North American Mennonite and Church of the Brethren
congregations and Friends meetings who support violence-reduction projects
around the world. The Cleveland, OH team, which has completed one third of
CPT's peacemaker training, currently includes Elluage Carson, Amy Gomez,
Alyce Foster, Jesse Griffin, Carol Hanna, Lois Mack, Jackie McKenny, Robin
and Cynthia Miller, Phyllis Milton, Henri and Wanda Ngolo and Jacqui
Rozier, all of the Greater Cleveland area, and Barb Martens of Ruthven,
Ontario.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite
Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 312-455-1199 FAX
312-432-1213, E-Mail cpt@igc.org WEB www.cpt.org
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