By Staff
Police chief requests people ‘speak up’ to improve community
By CHRISTINA HALE
Staff Writer
Women and men from area churches and religious groups gathered Friday to pray for justice and peace, locally and globally
They met at Spring Garden Baptist Church in Washington to celebrate World Community Day. The event was presented by Church Women United of Beaufort County.
The event’s theme — Embracing Justice Under God’s Tent — was evident in the celebration’s agenda.
Washington Police Chief Mick Reed spoke about his department’s efforts to make the community a safer place to live.
The police department deals in “quality-of-life issues,” Reed said.
Reed said he is impressed with all the good he’s discovered in Washington.
Church Women United of Beaufort County organizes three celebrations each year. They are World Friend Day in May, World Prayer Day in March and World Community Day, which falls on the first Friday in November, said Muriel Brothers, the organization’s president.
“The money we raise in March and November goes to worldwide programs, and the money in May goes to local programs,” she said.
Over $180 was collected from participants at Friday’s celebration.
Church Women United has been a part of Beaufort County for “a very, very long time,” Brothers said.
The national organization was founded in 1941. Church Women United is a racially, culturally and theologically inclusive Christian women’s movement, celebrating unity in diversity and working for a world of peace and justice, according to the national organization’s Web site.
The organization’s advisory board meets a month before each scheduled event to plan the event.
The majority of participants at Friday’s event were women, but World Community Day is for everyone, said Florence Lodge, the organization’s treasurer.