Vigil planned to pray for end to area violence

By Linda M. Linonis

Participation is needed from individuals, pastors, prayer groups and churches.

YOUNGSTOWN — Monica Phillips is a preacher of sorts, and the streets of Youngstown are her pulpit for prayer.

Phillips, coordinator of the drive-through prayer group in the city, is asking people of faith in Youngstown and surrounding communities to stand up and pray for an end to violence. She is organizing an overnight prayer vigil from midnight Friday to noon Saturday in the parking lot of Ace Cash Express, 2550 Market St.

Phillips asks that participants gather at 11:30 p.m. On the practical side, they should bring lawn chairs, blankets and other supplies.

Phillips has organized multiple drive-through prayer events, usually held at 5:30 p.m. Fridays at locations throughout the city where violence has invaded neighborhoods.

Phillips said the recent discovery of a woman’s body in a trash container was another reminder and wake-up call for her. “The prayer is for the city and its residents. These kinds of deaths keep coming. We have to get back on the right track,” she said.

Phillips said she thinks “people are numb to what’s going on.”

The prayer vigil will focus on the power of prayer and bringing people together.

She believes prayer is absolutely necessary. “I’m asking pastors and prayer groups to participate. And I’m asking churches to remain open during the 12-hour vigil for people to come in and pray,” Phillips said.

“Where there is unity, there is strength,” she said. “We can make a difference if the people, who are the body of Christ, come together and pray.”

Phillips said she has seen the impact of prayer firsthand at the drive-through prayer events.

“We’ve had many young men come up and ask for prayer,” she said, noting so many youths are at loose ends and get involved in crime. “When we were at High and Edward streets, a woman came up to me and told me she had been drug-free three years then relapsed and needed our prayer.

“Our testimonies can help save people,” Phillips said.

Phillips said the city belongs to the people but acknowledges the turmoil and despair created by violence. “The police fight the crime battles; we and the churches fight the spiritual battles,” she said.

“I believe prayer calms the spirit. I know it works,” Phillips said.

On a flier promoting the vigil, Phillips used a passage from Acts 16:25-26: “But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosened.”

Phillips said she is hoping this vigil will be a step toward freeing city residents from violence. For information, call Phillips at (330) 599-2868.