By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
HARLEM — Abyssinian Baptist Church stood up for one of its own Sunday in a rousing sermon from Rev. Calvin Butts in support of jailed teen Afrika Owes.
Members of the church tried Friday to post $50,000 bail for Owes, who faces charges of ferrying guns for her boyfriend's gang, but were told by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Edward McLaughlin that it was "unprecedented" for a church to put up money as collateral in a criminal case.
Butts turned McLaughlin's use of that word into the theme of his sermon Sunday, reminding the congregation that it had also been unprecedented for Jesus to turn water into wine in the bible.
"Go tell the judge that up here in Harlem, there's a body of Christ...and tell him that we are ready to stand up for our children," Butts said.
Owes, 17, and her mother were members of the church, where she once sang in the children's choir.
Before allegedly running guns for the "2 Mafia Family" and "Goons on Deck" gangs, Owes had been a student at the prestigious Deerfield Academy boarding school in Massachusetts.
Addressing a packed church Sunday, Butts emphasized that gang members and drug dealers belonged behind bars but that the African-American community was shouldering a disproportionate number of arrests.
"I do believe we should receive equal justice," he said.
"We do not buy most of the drugs in this country, we do not sell most of the drugs in this country but we are the most locked up and it has to stop," Butts said to applause and a standing ovation from some in the congregation.
Owes' attorney had argued that the court should consider her ties to the community and lack of previous record in its bail decision.
McLaughlin said he would have a decision on Owes' bail in a few weeks.
Abyssinian members said they supported the church's stance and wanted fair treatment of Owes.
"We don't know whether she's guilty or not," said Mildred Jackson, 69, a church member.
"But we have to support our own," Jackson said.
