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Candlelight Walk is set for Sunday night
BOARDMAN
Local clergy and safety forces will lead a Candlelight Walk Against Crime on Sunday night.
The walk was organized by the Boardman Ministerial Association. The association is part of the Boardman Coalition Against Crime, a nonprofit organization that supports the 3.85-mill, five-year additional police levy on the Aug. 2 ballot, assisting police by reporting suspected criminal activity and developing more block watches.
The association was formed four years ago as a group of chaplains for the township police and fire departments, said the Rev. Ash Welsh of Boardman United Methodist Church.
“That’s when we became proactive working with them,” he said.
The Rev. Mr. Welsh said the Rev. Bob Quaintance of Good Hope Lutheran Church came up with the idea of a walk against crime, which will begin at Good Hope Lutheran Church on Homestead Drive and end at Market Street Elementary School. Along the way, participants will stop to pray at houses that have been scenes of crime.
“I was able to get a list of places along or near the route that are locations where in the last year alone, something like 60 or 70, significant crimes were reported, such as burglaries, robberies ... assault and drug houses,” the Rev. Mr. Welsh said.
Susan Wessner, associate in ministry at Good Hope Lutheran Church, said clergy members are concerned about residents’ safety.
“From a pastoral perspective, none of us want to see one of our parishioners, or anyone in community, be robbed or beaten or anything like that happen. ... We all have a human call to care for one another,” she said.
Three to six congregations are expected to participate, and the walk is open to the public.
Clergy are just one part of the Boardman Coalition Against Crime. The coalition consists of township residents, business owners, teachers, real-estate agents, retailers and township employees, among others.