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By Shaun Lane
UMConnection Staff

As nearly 300 people sat inside Unity UMC April 21, mourning the death of Anthony Lamont Izzard, Sr. - killed April 11 - they listened to a message on the need to stop the violence in Baltimore City. During the sermon, witnesses say at least eight shots were fired outside the church in the 500 block of North Stricker Street.

According to the Baltimore Sun, two police officers rushed across the street from a nearby high school and found two victims, both with multiple gunshot wounds. One was pronounced dead upon arriving at a hospital and the other remained in serious condition.

According to the Rev. C. Anthony Hunt, the superintendent for the Baltimore-Harford District and the director of the conference's Urban Strategy, the man who was being funeralized at the time of the

shooting at Unity UMC on April 21 was one of two men shot just a short distance from St. James Memorial UMC on the night of Friday, April 11, just as the Baltimore-Harford District was certifying 25 lay speakers at the church.

"As a community of faith that embraces a clear and certain hope for God's shalom for all people, we are obviously very concerned, and continue to pray for those whose lives are torn by violence," Hunt said. "We mourn for those who suffer and rededicate ourselves to ministry to people in the city of Baltimore. We pray also for Rev. Patricia Johnson and the people of Unity UMC who remain steadfastly committed to ministering to the people of their community."

Unity and St. James UMCs are two of the churches embarking on the creation of Communities of Shalom, reaching out to bring peace and wholeness to their neighborhoods. Hunt hopes their efforts will positively impact the future and continue to address the pain and violence that now afflict the city.

Rev. Patricia Johnson, pastor at Unity UMC, said that things are going well since the shooting, adding that there was a peaceful protest after the shooting that was attended by about 90 people. She said that Unity UMC is in a forgotten neighborhood, where there are no social services and hundreds of homes are boarded up, creating a haven for violence.

"We need to be a lighthouse, a beacon of hope in the community," Johnson said. "We are open seven days a week. There is always someone here. We want the people of the community to know that there is a place that they can always come to."

Hunt said this latest act of violence should not deter the church from moving forward in its Shalom initiative.

"The needs of Baltimore and its people are dire and urgent," he said. "The violence is shocking. As a church, we must all be alarmed. We need to continue to act. As United Methodists, it is imperative that we offer hope and transformation.

"I encourage all United Methodists across the Baltimore region and our whole conference to continue to pray for each of our pastors and laity, and their communities in the city."

On the exterior of Unity UMC hangs a banner that reads: "Put down the guns. Love or perish."

"We have to be sick and tired of being sick and tired to make effective change," Johnson said. "The violence has to come to an end."