If you go
What: “Prayer Over troubled waters,” a citywide prayer for ChattanoogaWhen: 1 p.m. SaturdayWhere: Walnut Street Bridge. Lineup starts on side near Hunter Museum.For more information contact Tommy Peak at tommypeak58@gmail.com or 423-320-2099Contact Sailors at Rsailors@ups.com or 423-598-0472
Just like people line up at Best Buy for holiday sales, Pastor Tommy Peak says, he wants Chattanoogans to come early Saturday to the Walnut Street Bridge and prepare for a community prayer to end violence and saturate the city with peace.
God used his people to change the city of Jericho in the Bible, said Peak, associate pastor at Real Life Christian Ministries, so "Why can't he change Chattanooga?"
The prayer is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the bridge.
"Show up for one reason: to cry out to God that violence stops in our city," Peak said. "We're looking for gang members to come to God."
His goal is to have at least 1,600 participants holding hands in prayer while standing from one end of the Walnut Street Bridge to the other. He and prayer partner Scott Sailors said they wouldn't be surprised to see twice that number.
Chris McDaniel, now the worship pastor at Liberty Baptist Church in Dalton, Ga., will give a concert. McDaniel is the former keyboard player for the award-inning, multiplatinum-selling country group Confederate Railroad.
Some 60 churches representing various denominations are expected to be represented. Local law enforcement officers and firefighters with the Catoosa and Walker County fire departments and the Bradley County sheriff's department are also expected, Peak said.
"This is the body of Christ," Sailors said. "Nobody knows our name. It's about him."
He said the walk would be a "camouflage" group of people with no stand-out celebrity and the entire group crying out to God.
The prayer comes after 15 homicides and more than 60 shootings in the city this year. Some 61 percent of the shootings involve gangs, according to reports.
Victims of fatal shootings include Bianca Horton, a 26-year-old mother of four shot to death in May. Horton's children include a 1-year-old daughter who was paralyzed by gunfire in 2015. Ladarious Bush was shot dead this year at age 17. His older brother, Aundre Bush, was killed in 2011 at age 19. And George Dillard, 24, and Lakita Hicks, 25, the parents of a 5-year-old boy, were shot dead in their home this year. The double homicide made national news after the boy made the 911 call to report the shooting.
Bowing before God can stop shootings, Peak said.
"Prayer isn't a magic wand. It's a mighty weapon. When used effectively, it can stop violence," he said.
The men spoke Wednesday morning before posting fliers near the bridge advertising the event, called "Prayer Over Troubled Waters," according to the flier.
It's a prayer "for our community, police officers, firefighters and first responders," according to the announcement.
Peak and Sailors say they hope Saturday's prayer will encourage people to set aside time daily to pray for the leaders and peace of the city.
"We want to touch God's heart," Peak said.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.