Group to host Prayer Healing and Caravan event in response to recent violence in Jeanerette
Published 3:00 am Friday, March 18, 2022
- The Rev. Wilfred Johnson prays with children in June 2018.
The Jeanerette Anti-Violence Association is preparing a serious call for community prayer as a response to the recent violent crime in the city.
The Rev. Wilfred Johnson said a Prayer Healing and Caravan event will take place March 24 at 5 p.m. in Jeanerette with local activists calling on the community to rise up in prayer for the violence affecting the community recently.
The event starts at King Joseph Recreation Park with a lineup at 4:30 p.m. and will end with a prayer meet at Jones Funeral Home at 6:30 p.m.
“Basically this is our attempt to saturate the city of Jeanerette with prayer due to the rising of gun violence and shootings in the city,” Johnson said. “We do believe prayer should be our starting point and this is where it should begin.
The caravan will make prayer stops at St. Peter and Main streets, Pellerin and Church streets, Ira Street and 3rd and Lovett streets as part of the prayer caravan. Johnson said all of those points were areas affected by violent crime in the past.
“Those are all hot spots, and we’re going to stop and pray to let the enemy know we mean business,” the pastor said.
The caravan is a lead-up to a much larger event taking place on April 2 at King Joseph Recreation Center. The Jeanerette Anti-Violence Association will put on the “It Takes A Village” event at the recreation center to bring the Jeanerette community together for a day of positivity and fun. That event takes place on Martin Luther King Drive on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The event will feature vendors, car shows, cookoffs, cash prizes, basketball and more, according to organizer Terri Thompson.
Thompson added that a petting zoo and games for children will be available, along with cash prizes, free vendor setup and motivational speakers.
Both the caravan and It Takes A Village events are open to the public. Johnson said all ages are welcome, and those attending the caravan will not have to get out of their vehicles until the procession reaches Jones Funeral Home, where a prayer event will be held.
