Love Walk III planned in Lynchburg

By Dave Thompson
Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: August 24, 2008

Leaders from Churches United for Service have no plans to slack off in their efforts to diminish violence in Lynchburg.

That was the message behind Saturday’s afternoon cookout at Miller Park, dubbed the “Love Feast,” where organizers detailed further plans to curb recent violence, in the form of three action items.

Lynchburg pastors Artemus Dixon and James Coleman announced the plans to a group of residents and city officials gathered under Miller Park’s main pavilion.

The first of the actions, Coleman said, is “Love Walk III.”

With a tentative date set for Sept. 27, that endeavor will be the third in the series of inner-city walks led by Churches United for Service.

Mayor Joan Foster, who also attended the event and pledged her support to the continuing efforts, said she plans to participate in the walk.

“To me, it’s a great endeavor,” she said, “to see the citizens of the community want to just do service for the pure joy of it.”

The second planned event, Coleman said, is an “Adopt-a-Cop” program between the Lynchburg Police Department and local churches.

Coleman said participating churches will “adopt” one or more officers from the police department, in an attempt to form a continuing relationship between the officer and the members of the church, thus strengthening community ties with law enforcement.

Dixon talked about the third action item, still in the early planning stages.

As the plans stood Saturday, the group planned to procure an old, dilapidated car, and turn it into a “lean, mean road machine,” demonstrating how God can transform a hopeless life.

After the car is restored, Dixon said, a gun-swapping event will be held, where residents are asked to trade in their firearms for a chance to win the car.

“We want to send that message that we’re about more than collecting guns,” he said. “We’re about transforming lives.