L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Sparked by a sudden spike in violent crime in St. John the Baptist Parish over the past weekend, members of a small church in LaPlace gathered for a prayer vigil Wednesday and some straightforward discussion about ways to curtail the criminal activity.

“You are all here tonight because you care,” said Bishop Ronald Frank, pastor at Milesville Memorial Church of God in Christ, the host site for the vigil. “We are up here because we love you all and want to encourage you all to be above the fray.”

Residents gathered Wednesday evening at Milesville Memorial Church of God in Christ for a prayer vigil and “stop the violence” rally. The vigil was in response to a string of violent crime in St. John Parish over last week. (Staff photo by Robin Shannon)

The crowd gathered for the service was dominated by young faces, something not unusual among Frank’s flock. He said his congregation is a mostly younger set, many of whom encouraged the vigil Wednesday, which he said was planned in advance of the shootings this weekend.

“They really care about what is going on in the community,” Frank said. “The kids in this congregation have posted all over Facebook about tonight’s event. They want to see a change.”

Although he didn’t show it Wednesday night, the violent activity hit very close to home for Frank and his family. Frank’s son Moses was a victim of a shooting in LaPlace earlier that day that sent him to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck. Frank said his son is expected to make a full recovery and he carried on with the service while his wife and son were in the hospital.

“This event was going to continue regardless,” Frank said. “I’m calm because I know he is going to be alright. This was a case of wrong place at the wrong time.”

The congregation dedicated the service to the memory of 36-year-old Garland Randall, who was shot and killed while riding in a car in Garyville Sunday morning. Although he was not a member of the church, many in the congregation knew Randall well and remembered him as a good person.

“They called him ‘Boy Hoy.’ Everyone knew him,” Frank said. “He was not one to be involved in something like that.”

Those who spoke during the vigil Wednesday did not take the time to preach but offered sincere thoughts about what can be done to eliminate the violent element in the parish.

“It is so easy to go next door to the club to dance and cut up,” said Edgard resident Corliss Robeskie. “You can do all the dancing and singing you want right here in this church building. Stop being what someone else wants you to be and be your own person. You have it in you and I know this because you are here tonight.”

Others, like LaPlace resident Terri McKnight, expressed embarrassment over the growing climate of violence and wonders why the community cannot do better.

“All it takes is one to start a movement,” McKnight said. “But it will take many to continue it.”

Deputy Anna Frank, who works in the booking department of the St. John Sheriff’s Office and is the daughter of Bishop Ronald Frank, said she has grown tired of seeing the same faces in and out of jail regularly. She said the vigil should serve as the starting point for a larger movement.

“This is not the end. This is just the beginning,” she said. “We are not going to take this anymore.”