Prayer meeting is downtown Wednesday

Pastors William Watson and Justin Wainscott watch the news, see stories of black men shot by police officers and protests that have followed in places like Tulsa and Charlotte, and they hurt.

Watson is black and pastors the largely black Historic First Baptist Church, and Wainscott is white and pastors a predominantly white First Baptist Church, so that naturally influences the perspectives and backgrounds through which they view those stories.

But they are also both Christian leaders, and that also influences their perspectives.

Jackson hasn’t experienced that kind of incident recently, and they want to make sure it stays that way.

As a result, they are hosting a community prayer meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday in front of the Madison County Courthouse downtown.

“You grieve. Your heart breaks to see that happen in any community anywhere to any family,” Wainscott said. “I think you tend to think, sadly, how quickly things can escalate, and a bad situation can turn worse.

“This has happened in a few different communities.”

So Wainscott suggested the idea of a community prayer meeting to Watson, as the two often bring their churches together for events, and Watson quickly agreed.

"My heart aches. Anybody who is human and they're healthy, their heart ought to ache," Watson said.

Walk to Remember preserves memory of children

Watson said they wanted to hold the meeting as quickly as possible to maximize its impact and relevance. He said the topic of police shootings in other cities comes up frequently at church, especially among youth.

A Memphis native, Watson said he was told as a kid to always tell an officer if there was a problem. The black youth in his church feel they have to weigh that instruction with the concern that a particular officer might see them as a threat, based on what has happened in other cities.

“It’s a delicate balance we have to walk these days,” Watson said.

The ministers want to help encourage a positive relationship between the community and local law enforcement officers.

“I commend what has taken place in the life of the community to this point, but I say that’s not all that should be done,” Watson said.

Wainscott will offer a prayer of confession at Wednesday’s meeting. Clarence Williams of Walnut Grove Missionary Baptist Church will give a prayer for comfort and healing locally and nationally.

Union University President Samuel “Dub” Oliver will give the prayer for law enforcement officers, and a representative from Lane College will pray for people to strive to be peacemakers. Watson will pray for the community to be marked by unity.

The event should last no more than 45 minutes.

“We’ve got a lot to learn from one another,” Wainscott said. “These kinds of relationships can and should happen in our community.”

Watson noted that ideally this conversation would not be necessary, and it’s difficult to stop and have a serious, deep talk about a sensitive topic, but it’s important, too.

“I’m a vested transplant in the life of this community, wanting to see it have all the life and vigor and vitality it should have,” Watson said.

Reach Craig at (731) 425-9634. Follow him on Twitter: @JSWriterCraig