Faith leaders in Birmingham answer call to fight gun violence

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — For the next 30 days, faith leaders in Birmingham will open their church doors at 6 p.m. to pray, get out into the community and share a message of hope.

On Thursday, many of these leaders gathered at the Epic Center to kick off this effort to end violence in the Magic City. Every pastor in Birmingham is asked to participate in this effort.

“It’s the call of the faith community to come together and have an intentional conversation about what we’re experiencing in community and how we respond to a community that is suffering,” said Onoyemi Williams of LiveFree Alabama.

With seven people killed last weekend in the city, Williams said the call to stop the violence requires more than talking about it — faith and community leaders need to engage with residents.

“We’ll be handing out people in the community with stickers and a little card that just says, ‘I love you, I need you, how can I help you?’ It’s a way to get into a conversation,” Williams said.

Faithful leaders are not the only ones who are asked to pray and go out into the community as they encourage young people to follow their example.

“We will continue to be in charge. We are the next generation. What will we have left? We have to move forward and how are we going to do that without people my age?” Jamya Dickson with Students Demand Action said.

With over 75 faith congregations participating, the goal is to touch the lives of everyone in the community in hopes of reducing crime with one message.