Violence in Indianapolis

Praise God. 

The statement rings throughout the sanctuary. Throughout the service, the energy is the room is unmatched, as arms flail and voices rise and fall, a reaction of conviction and praise. Among those images is a tall, slender man with sad eyes and a green tie. As his congregation praises their Father out loud, he sits to the side of the stage, his demeanor steady as his eyes wander the rows of pews. 

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To his congregation, he’s “a fantastic preacher,” and “he knows a whole lot of people.” But from a pink carpeted pew in the back of the sanctuary, he’s an imperfect man, serving an imperfect community and a perfect Father. 

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Pastor Charles Harrison is the senior pastor at Barnes United Methodist Church, a red brick building that sits between a highway and homes that have seen better days. The church turns 140 years old this year, but amongst the celebrations, Pastor Harrison is trying his best to combat the violence that racks his community. He currently serves as the Board President of the Indianapolis TenPoint Coalition.

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Many groups in the Indianapolis metropolitan area try to combat gun violence, but how many actually succeed? The answer, on the surface, is none, as violence persists in high numbers in the city. According to a criminal database from Indy Star, since 2019 began, over 100 people have fallen victim to criminal gun violence in the area. These staggering numbers show just how desperately help is needed. Who can provide the help depends heavily on the resources each group has access to, something the TenPoint Coalition, which has expanded nationally, knows well. Failing to be chosen for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Community-Based Violence Prevention Partnership grant for the last two years, the organization, whose original coalition was founded in Boston and came to Indianapolis in the late 1990s, still holds out hope that the issue will get better, believing the involvement of neighborhoods in stopping crime in their areas is crucial to lessening the violence. 

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“When community grassroots organizations and law enforcement works together, the model does work. We cannot stop all of the violence, but the goal is to reduce the violence and to change the community norm so that people are no longer accepting of violence,” Harrison said. 

Inside the church, guests are greeted with warm hellos, “God bless you” and “thanks for joining us.” Strangers don’t exist in the small sanctuary, its pink carpeting stretching from the front of the sanctuary to the back and up each pew. The church is a community, a close-knit group of believers who show their love and anguish through singing. 

For the time being, there’s peace in the church, at least to the outsider. There’s never not grief or tiredness or hurt. Shouts of praise are filled with hurt. But hurt is attached to grace. And grace keeps going. 

Over half of the service is taken up by the songs of a gospel choir, and as they sing, Harrison stands off to the side and watches, a look of thoughtfulness on his face. He doesn’t move much until it’s close to time for him to preach, and as he approaches the pulpit, his quiet demeanor vanishes like it was never there. 

The sermon will be about how the world watches Christians and how that should affect how they act. Even when you don’t think people are watching, he said, they are. Pastor Harrison will stress that Christians are seeds and followers of God. What you sow is what you reap. 

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Pastor Harrison isn’t immune to violence. He lost both a brother and a nephew to gun violence when both were around the same age, 21 and 23, respectively, which falls in the targeted age range that TenPoint tries to specifically help. He fights this battle not only because of what he says a church should do in a community, but also to prevent others from experiencing what his family did.

The sermon today may not be about TenPoint’s mission, or about gun violence at all. But it resonates. Being good seeds. Showing kindness, compassion and self-control. Our need to be tolerant and compassionate. All things to take out to the streets, in our homes and in public. Traits for change. 

There’s still work to be done. There always will be, as the imperfect world keeps spinning. Countless news stories depict wildfires, disease and war. Guns swarm schools, theatres and shopping malls. Right now, everything’s not alright, but it’s Sunday morning. And for the moment, there’s only so much that can be done.

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