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Faith effort takes aim at Erie violence By the Editorial Board

Erie Times-News - 8/18/2017

WEB STORY

Religion and science have often been at loggerheads.

That is not the case when it comes to the effect a simple hour of religious worship can have on a child.

Social science data and research show organized religious activities for youth act as a vaccination of sorts against a host of definable ills. Just one hour a week spent engaging in worship, regardless of the faith, can result in better grades at school, a reduction in violent tendencies and risk of suicide. It can improve communication with parents and strengthen a child's ability to make moral choices.

Research also shows, however, that the number of kids who take part in such activity in Erie County is "exceptionally low," Andrea Bierer, the community action plan coordinator for Unified Erie, said. About 43 percent of local youth are involved in religious activities for at least an hour a week. Worse, 20 percent have never attended a religious-based event.

Unified Erie is right to try to improve those numbers.

The local anti-violence initiative launched its second "Take Me to Worship" campaign Tuesday, as detailed by Erie Times-News reporter Matthew Rink.

Unified Erie, a broad-based coalition of law enforcement, researchers and neighborhood activists, takes no stand in favor of a particular faith or denomination. It just wants to encourage parents to involve children in organized religion as a way to drive down violence in Erie County.

Unified Erie supplies local religious communities with the messaging - the "Take Me to Worship" yard signs that can be seen scattered throughout the region; billboards; marketing photos and literature; along with advertisements on social and print media, radio and television.

The churches then decide how to build those tools into their programming.

The Rev. Brian Kelly of McLane Church said the 2016 campaign brought about 100 new children to his church, though not all stuck with it.

The Catholic Diocese of Erie is participating for the first time this year, a move which could greatly expand the campaign's reach.

Rooting out violence and strengthening neighborhoods is no simple task. Unified Erie has for years laudably led the local effort by persistently working on all fronts - from street corners to souls - using strategies backed by science.

It has targeted violent fugitives and stolen guns and bolstered neighborhood organizations. Its call-in program seeks to intervene in the lives Erie gang members and provide them with the resources to change. Its re-entry program offers ex-offenders crucial support as they come home from prison.

This simple "Take Me to Worship" campaign could help prevent crime and violence in the first place by giving young people the interior resources - strong hearts and minds - to choose a better way.

Parents should consider taking the advice.