Akron faith community calls for 'unity' in gathering for Jayland Walker

It was a call for unity, with an emphasis on faith, as hundreds packed The Remedy Church on Brittain Road in Akron's Chapel Hill neighborhood for a "unity gathering to foster community healing."

The tone was in sharp contrast to recent protests, where police and city officials have been vilified by some calling for justice in the case of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot to death last month by police after he fled from a traffic stop.

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Speakers at Tuesday night's service called for people to love one another, emphasizing a return to the church and Christian values.

"Love and justice are a Christian marriage that have somehow become divorced," said the Rev. Joey Johnson, bishop of The House of the Lord Church in Akron.

The night's closing speaker, Johnson quoted Catholic Archbishop Helder Camara: “Without justice and love, peace will always be a great illusion.”

"I think sometimes we get stuck on the other side of this divide," Johnson continued. "Either we’re going to have justice and forget about love, or the church people are going to come with love and we don't care about justice. But you've gotta have love and justice.

"Love empowers justice, and justice embodies love. Keep both, or get neither," he said. "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Power without love is reckless and abusive, but love without power is sentimental and anemic.

"'Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.'"

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Citing the power of the church at Akron gathering

The event drew about 300 people, including Mayor Dan Horrigan and Police Chief Steve Mylett, who sat in the front row along with members of Walker's family.

The Rev. Deante Lavender, who with his wife, the Rev. Arnalesa Lavender, are lead pastors of The Remedy Church, introduced each speaker.

"Unity doesn't mean that we ignore the facts. Unity doesn't mean that we hide and we cower behind the thought that someone may not like us," he said. "Unity is being able to speak truth to power ... Ninety shots on a young man is not only a lack of integrity, but it is inhumane.

"But here's the reality of this — those individuals that did that are still a part of this community. They're still people that live next door to you. They're still people who live next door to myself, and so now the question is how do we continue to strengthen our community and change — here it is — the hearts and the minds of people so that they understand that life is life?"

Tierra Kahli, a spoken word artist with The Remedy Church, was introduced first.

"We who believe in freedom cannot rest. We must build until they see us. We must vote until we become them. We must unify, until we paint these streets with love. We must unify until peace is the sound that tolls in every heart, that plays in the background of every mind, that changes our world," she said. "We who believe that love conquered the enemy, we will humble ourselves and pray. We who believe that the power is in the only champion who has no rivals, we must use the power that he left behind in us and then use those weapons that comes against the violence and the heartache that dares to try and kill our community."

'It's getting dark; time to come home'

The Rev. Bryndon Glass, senior pastor of SPAN Ministries in Tallmadge, also called for a return to the church, saying the civil rights movement has not solved all problems.

He recalled his youth, when children knew when to return home when the streetlights came on. He said too many young Black men are killing each other and said church attendance has been falling.

"For us in the Black community ... we've been enjoying a little bit of sunlight. We've been enjoying being able to go to whatever bathroom we want to go to, whatever swimming pool we want to go to. We've been enjoying the fact that hotels are not segregated. We enjoy the fact that we can go into particular restaurants.

"It's getting darker and the streetlights are coming on. It's time to come home to church. We've been out of church for too long."

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"We have what we need to get it done," said Judi Hill, president of the Akron NAACP, citing her childhood pastor. "We are together, better."

"When they talk about being in the shadow of the valley of death, remember that word — it's the shadow. We are in the shadow, but together we can come out of that valley, but we have to do it together. We have to do it in honesty, we have to do it in truth and we have to walk side by side with those who look like us and those who don't, for we all walk in the path of justice for everyone."

The Rev. Jeff Bogue, senior pastor of Grace Church of Greater Akron, said his congregation stands firm with the Black community.

"We stand in oneness with the church of Akron. We stand in oneness with the body of Christ," he said. "I want you to know that we are with you. We love you as a family. We have been praying for you. We grieve with you. I cannot fathom losing one of my sons.

"We stand with you in this call to unity. We stand with you in the call for justice to play its course. We pray for this family, we pray for this city, we pray for our officials. We love and support and pray that God will guide your hand."

Cousin: 'It starts with the church'

Roddray Walker Jr., cousin of Jayland Walker, also addressed the crowd on behalf of the family.

"I'm just happy to see everyone come out here together to raise awareness for Jayland's life, and how he was killed at the hands of the police," he said. "We must unite at times like these to mobilize our efforts to change the outcomes. We need our brothers and sisters and allies in the streets protesting non-violently. This event is us working together to fix the known problems we have in society.

"Just to echo what everyone's said before me coming up, it starts with the church."

Eric Marotta can be reached at 330-541-9433, or emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.