ROCK HILL -- Three local preachers, fed up with community violence, held an outdoor rally Saturday in the city’s Sunset Park neighborhood.

Despite intermittent rain, several dozen people gathered at Friedheim Park for a three-hour event peppered with songs, prayers and personal testimonies. Organizers said the rally was meant to show the community that God – and local churches – cares about their plight.

“We don’t have any hidden agenda,” said the Rev. Lem Anderson, pastor of Integrity Ministry of God. “We’re not out here trying to get members. We’re just out here trying to show that Christians can come together and love, and have fun.”

Anderson said the time has come for churches to come from behind their walls to address the needs of communities.

Rock Hill residents say gun violence among the youth is become an increasing problem. A growing share of it, they say, appears to be gang related.

The Sunset Park community was stunned last October when an 18-year-old man was shot and killed during a robbery while sitting on a front porch with friends. Police later charged three 17-year-old men and a 21-year-old woman with the killings Police said the suspects took about $10 in cash and $200 in electronic devices.

Organizers said they plan to hold additional rallies in other Rock Hill neighborhoods affected by violence.
 

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