PRAYER vigils were held in churches across St Louis, Missouri,
as violent unrest shook the streets after a jury verdict not to
bring charges over the killing of a black teenager, Michael
Brown.
The decision not to charge Darren Wilson, a white policeman,
over the shooting of Mr Brown, aged 18, in August this year was
heard with fear and trembling by many, who feared a return to the
violence of last August, when the killing sparked days of violence
on the streets (News, 22
August).
A silent vigil was held in Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in
St Louis as the verdict was read out by the Dean, the Very Revd
Mike Kinman. After a period of silence, he then read a prayer of
forgiveness written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The vigil continued
for 24 hours.
Later, the Dean tweeted: "I weep for all in harm's way, for all
suffering loss & for how much violence will cement the worst
images in people's minds of Black America."
Many in the African-American community had called for Mr Wilson
to be charged with murder, but, after three months of deliberation,
a Missouri grand jury - of nine white and three black members -
made no recommendation of charges.
President Obama joined the Mr Brown's family on Monday in
appealing for calm, urging Americans to accept that the decision
was "the grand jury's to make''.
But the unrest that broke out, after the verdict was announced
on Monday, in the city of Ferguson in St Louis, where Mr Brown
died, was said to be worse than on any night since the teenager's
death.
Flood Christian Church, where Mr Brown's father was baptised
last weekend, was torched on Monday night. Its founder, the Revd
Carlton Lee, told NBC News that he believed it was targeted because
he had called for the arrest of Mr Wilson.
The Rector of St Stephen's, Ferguson, the Revd Steve Lawlor,
said that the unrest was more serious than in August, and that he
expected worse to come, but that Thanksgiving weekend might keep
people off the streets.
"The protests started peacefully but soon accelerated, and when
the police fired tear gas, things got pretty intense. . . When
things accelerated, many people left."
St Stephen's remained unharmed as of Tuesday, although only a
block away many shops were looted and burnt. Mr Lawlor said that
the church was being used as a base for food deliveries,
counselling, and childcare, as schools were closed. Some
neighbourhoods of Ferguson were still locked down by police, and
members of the congregation were waiting to be allowed to
distribute food parcels inside.
A clean-up team from the church, which has a multi-racial
congregation, was also taking to the streets to try to repair some
of the damage caused by protesters. Some churches were offering
"sanctuary spaces" for protesters, and others were opening for 24
hours a day as prayer spaces for demonstrators.