Two churches in Missouri are filled with faith, but common ground remains elusive

[cbayer]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/community-turns-to-prayer-for-officer-in-fatal-shooting/2014/08/17/e7580d2a-2636-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html


A woman dances during church services at the Greater St. Mark Family Church as the community discusses reactions to the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

By Emily Wax-Thibodeaux and DeNeen Brown
August 17 at 9:59 PM

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — They came in numbers that surprised even the minister, arriving in a muggy drizzle to a church parking lot so full that some had to park in front of the empty home of the man they came to pray for: embattled white police officer Darren Wilson.

They said they had empathy for the family of the teenager the officer killed. But they also said they feared that they might be attacked by rioters at their church, because Southminster Presbyterian sits right behind the suburban home of Wilson, the patrolman identified in the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, a black teenager who was unarmed.

The Rev. Kurt J. Calkins wanted to be a part of that conversation. He wanted to help people feel safe. He had even readied the church’s gym and multi-purpose room — the Christian Life Center — in case evacuations were needed.

“Everyone is worried. It’s best to be vigilant,” he said. “But we also have to have faith, we have to be good Christians and pray that things will be okay.”

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