Making an honest effort to address spiritual needs in the community several local churches are taking healing to the streets and erecting prayer boxes. Last Saturday a contingent of close to fifty people combed the drug infested St. Monica's Road and neighbouring areas, knocking on doors and asking people face to face if they'd like to talk or have a prayer.

The informal walk about was the result of churches in the area banding together with area community groups and organisations. Rev. Nicholas Dill and Rev. Musa Daba of the Anglican churches St. Monica's, St. Augustine's and St. John's met with Rev. Rodney Grimes and Rev. Charles A Smith of Heard Chapel AME early last week. At that meeting the men decided to re-form a group of Christian leaders. Representatives from the First Church of God, House of Prayer, Grace Methodist, North Shore Gospel Chapel, the Salvation Army and North Shore Gospel were invited along with community groups and activists including Imagine Bermuda, Boulevard Sports Club, North Village Community Club and Community Police Action Group.

The group quickly organised events in an effort to help address the worries of the neighbourhood in the wake of the murder of well-loved area resident Kummi Hargrove. They held a prayer vigil on the 8th at St. Monica's Road and on Saturday gathered in the parking lot of St. Monica's Church before taking to the street.

In the parking lot the group including, Bishop Vernon Lambe of the First Church of God, Pastor Ulric Hetsberger of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Lionel Cann of the Salvation Army, Pastor Jones of North Shore Gospel, Glen Fubler of Imagine Bermuda, Wendell Dill and Major Kenneth Dill of North Village Community Club and Band; sang a few hymns, read Bible scriptures, prayed and then set out with prayer cards and paperback versions of the New Testament to hand out to residents.

Rev. Nicholas Dill told those taking to the streets, not to be intrusive and to leave if requested to do so. He also advised them to be mindful not to overstay their welcome at any one home.

He noted that prayer boxes would be erected outside area churches and that the residents should be invited to drop their requests in any box to enable a wide circle of people to pray for their concerns and issues.

"We are here with a purpose to bring God's message and let people know that the Church is here for them, that God is alive and that there is an opportunity for them to get spiritual sustenance," he said.

"We want to invite them into our churches but if they are not comfortable with that to let them know that they still have access by putting their concerns in the prayer boxes.

"We want this to be the start of a movement of looking out for our neighbours," he added.

Those gathered then broke into smaller groups and set out enthusiastically to bring comfort and healing to area residents. I walked with a few groups and in some instances people did share their worries of sick family members and disturbing times. One woman still in her dressing gown asked that we pray for her, her sister and her mother, right there on the spot.

At another home, a mother and her young adult son politely took the prayer card and New Testament and then the son angrily complained that attention was only being paid to the area because of Mr. Harford's murder.

"It's a two way street," one woman of the group said to me. "Residents need to know that they can come to us and tell us their problems. That young man needs to know that he can come to us and we will pray for him and fill that void he may have in his life, with love.

"We can help show him the way to God."