Disciple: A Means to a Beginning

St. Francis and the Greensboro police chiefs share reconciliation worship

By Mary Flinn

What do you get when you mix one priest and two police officers in a pulpit? A recipe for reconciliation and a heartfelt, yet transparent, discussion about race relations in Greensboro, North Carolina.

WELCOME TO ST. FRANCIS

Since interim rector the Rev. Milton C. Williams arrived at the predominantly white parish in 2015, he has been pushing the envelope. On any given Sunday at the church, known for its annual book sale whose proceeds fund numerous outreach projects, there are events like car blessings, blessings of the animals or a ministry fair where children of all ages (including Williams) can be found hula-hooping on the lawn. There are lots of visitors every Sunday, taking a peek to see what is going on at St. Francis.

Williams is familiar with first responders; in fact, he was one himself on September 11, 2001, when he served at Trinity Church in New York City. As God’s first responder, he spent the day going back and forth from the horrific scene outside to the inside of the church, trying to discern where he was needed. After living and serving in Chicago and Washington, D.C., as well, he may have thought taking an assignment in Greensboro might be a nice respite from his previous excitement. But not long after he arrived in the piedmont city, he saw an article on the front page of The New York Times about his new city.

“The Disproportionate Risks of Driving While Black” was an unflattering expose about the disparity in traffic stops that occur with black drivers as opposed to white drivers in Greensboro and other cites that collect traffic stop data. The article featured newly assigned Chief of Police Wayne Scott, who described the efforts the force was making to change the disparity. Also featured in the article was Mayor Nancy Vaughan, who asked, “Are we going to be the next Ferguson?” That was a thought echoed by Williams as well.

Fast forward to 2016 and reel off the names of towns and cities that have suffered police shootings and shootings of police: Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; St. Anthony, Minnesota; Dallas, Texas; Stoneville, North Carolina, a town just north of Greensboro. Add to that the Charleston, South Carolina church shooting, the name Freddie Gray, Black Lives Matter, and the mind can become numb to the seemingly every-other-day occurrences of racially charged violence. One might ask, “What’s going on here?”

Williams certainly did. “You should be feeling something because clearly, this is not right,” he said. He wondered about his congregation. He thought, What are they feeling? And are we going to be the next Ferguson? The conversation about connecting our civic selves to our religious selves in a responsible way needs to start now, and here. And St. Francis needs to take the lead.

STARTING THE CONVERSATION

On Sunday, August 7, 2016, Williams shared his pulpit with Scott and Deputy Chief James Hinson, Jr. as a means not to an end, but to a beginning. In a springboard discussion that Williams likened in setting to famous interviewers like Phil Donohue or Charlie Rose, Scott quipped he was glad Williams hadn’t chosen Jerry Springer as the model for the day’s discussion, which got a chuckle from the congregation. Also invited to the worship service were the Rev. Stephen Smith and members of the congregation of Holy Spirit, Greensboro, a more diverse parish in another area of town, and Vaughan, whose mother is a member of St. Francis.

The questions ranged from how officers must respond in making split-second decisions, to how citizens are treated equally and as a matter of police protocol. It all goes back to the greatest commandment: Love thy neighbor as thyself.

“I tell [officers] each and every encounter should be like what we would want if it were one of our relatives being stopped,” said Hinson, who oversees the city’s patrol division.

On the question of gun control, Scott deferred to lawmakers on that issue but mentioned the struggle citizens have between mental health issues and the availability of weapons.

Attendees learned the Greensboro police force has developed a new protocol for traffic stops in general as a way to reduce the disparity, which has garnered some positive attention nationally. The new protocol involves fewer stops over minor traffic infractions, which results in arrest statistics that appear to be more representative of the population. In order to build bridges, officers do more listening than talking. Scott shared that during a recent protest, “I said, ‘We are going to allow them to be heard.’ We could have gone in and starting arresting everybody. We operated with patience. Many walked away feeling very different about the police.”

The chief also explained the police presence continues to be in places where they are asked to be, where citizens are more often victimized, and those places tend to be in neighborhoods where people of color usually live. Scott mentioned that federal law allows vehicles to be searched for any reason, but he requires his officers to have a reason to search, which must be recorded in paperwork or through talking into the body cameras officers wear. “We believe it creates trust in our community,” he said.

FAITH PLAYS A PART

Being invited into a church to share their stories is not new to Scott and Hinson, who both say their faith, which is strongly rooted in the Baptist tradition, guides them daily in their jobs. They have been guest speakers in mosques, synagogues and other churches where they have had similar discussions with other congregations, something that resonated positively with St. Francis members. Parishioner Dick Battle thinks Scott’s department is on to something. He said, “You have a feeling that he cares, and that’s so important for people who want things to be better.”

Scott, who has started a faith advisory council, ended the conversation by asking for the congregation’s prayers — for himself, for Hinson, for the police force and for the city of Greensboro.

Mary Flinn is a parishioner at St. Francis, Greensboro.