The Rev. Floyd Brooks, with , has lived in Como for 68 years. On the pulpit July 5, he referred to, a line of scripture from the Bible to invoke hope in the community after a mass shooting.
- I lift up my eyes to the mountains鈥�
where does my help come from?
- My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
鈥淲hat are we going to do in Como?鈥� Brooks said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to look to the hills.鈥�
For Brooks, Wednesday鈥檚 meeting was a way 鈥渢o begin our healing day together鈥� and to help the community move forward through faith.
鈥淲e're going to continue to trust God that everything will be all right,鈥� Brooks said.
The clergy in the historically Black neighborhood assembled to address a mass shooting that occurred during a Como neighborhood block party late July 3 at the intersection of Diaz Avenue and Horne Street. The incident left three people dead and eight injured.
The Rev. Kenneth Jones said he wanted to pack the pews for the emergency public meeting at the Como First Missionary Baptist Church where he ministers because he is tired of talking about the problem of gun violence and ready for action.
Jones started the meeting with a prayer, thanking people for coming to the meeting and asking God and believers for their support. Jones' main goal was to ask Como residents to come to God for healing and for faith leaders to get involved with the city to create change.
鈥淣one of these issues are going to get resolved until we get back to God,鈥� Jones said.
Jones has lived in Como for 27 years. During the meeting, he called out to faith leaders to collaborate with city officials on potential solutions that target gun violence in the community.
The Rev. Kyev Tatum, from in east Fort Worth, proposed Black pastors and Black churches create a gun violence task force. The shooting is a 鈥渟piritual issue that the Black community has to address,鈥� he told the audience.
鈥淔ort Worth needs a massive makeover, and it needs to start with the Black community and with the Black church,鈥� Tatum said.
Following Wednesday鈥檚 briefing, Jones told the Fort Worth Report that supporting the grieving community is important and he intends to continue that conversation at the meeting on July 6.
鈥淲e have to keep it spiritual,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淭his ain鈥檛 going to move y鈥檃ll if it ain't spiritual.鈥�
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