BEVERLY — Despite some residents disagreeing with the church's decision to invite the Rev. Michael Pfleger to speak at an anti-murder event at St. Barnabas Parish in Beverly, the fiery pastor of St. Sabina Church drew plenty of applause from Saturday night's crowd.
Meanwhile, only two protesters showed up outside the venue, claiming that Pfleger laid too much blame at the feet of police.
Pfleger, who was one of three main speakers Saturday, largely stuck to the Thou Shalt Not Murder event's message, sharing his signature style of preaching while demanding neighborhoods throughout the city look at violence as a shared problem. He then loudly challenged those in attendance to play an active role in tackling the issue.
"Some people called me up and said, 'Why are you coming to Beverly? Why not,'" said Pfleger to the crowd that filled roughly 70 percent of the church at 10134 S. Longwood Drive.
As expected, Pfleger didn't hold back, addressing issues such as racism, gun control, disproportionate school funding and more. The impassioned pleas regularly drew loud applause.
READ MORE: Fr. Pfleger Appearance At St. Barnabas Draws Heated Reaction from Community
Pfleger was one of three panelists who spoke as part of the prayer service organized by the "Thou Shalt Not Murder" campaign. Nine religious and community leaders from the 19th Ward launched the campaign as a petition drive to make Easter Sunday a day without a murder in Chicago.
Their effort has since evolved into a public pledge to stand behind those working to counteract the violence throughout the city. That said, the whole campaign was sparked by the Beverly Unitarian Church and calls for the removal of the words "Black Lives Matter" from its sign in September.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger shares a moment during his presentation Saturday night with the Rev. Dennis Langdon of Morgan Park United Methodist Church. Langdon invited Pfleger to participate in the prayer service organized by the Thou Shalt Not Murder campaign. [DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig]
"Those three words provoked a firestorm," said the Rev. Dennis Langdon of Morgan Park United Methodist Church.
Langdon, an organizer of the prayer service, said the response to the sign showed Beverly residents were in a unique position to support the Black Lives Matter movement as well as supporting police officers. Indeed, the bulk of those concerned about Pfleger's appearance questioned his reputation for being critical of the Chicago Police Department, said the Rev. William Malloy, the pastor at St. Barnabas.
Leigh Ryan and her daughter, Emma, stood outside of their parish church Saturday night to express such concerns. They held a sign that read, "Blue Lives Matter" and spoke about their family and friends who work in law enforcement.
READ MORE: St. Barnabas Pastor Tells Community Event Is Not Anti-Police or Anti-Guns
"I know Fr. Pfleger does throw a lot of blame at the police," Leigh Ryan said.
Similar concerns played out on neighborhood Facebook pages when it was announced that Pfleger would be participating in the event. Several posts suggested withholding weekly contributions to St. Barnabas. Others suggested parents pull their children from the Catholic elementary school.
But church leaders stood firm that the event was meant to combat violence and nothing else: "This is not a gun-control rally. This is not an anti-police rally. It is a worship service," said Langdon, setting the tone for the evening.
For his part, Pfleger said Saturday that the bridge between the police and the community needs to be fixed. He then pointed to fellow panelist, Chicago Police Chief Eugene Williams, who had addressed the crowd earlier.
Emma and Leigh Ryan stood outside of St. Barnabas Parish Saturday night with signs that read "Blue Lives Matter." The parishioners said Pfleger has placed a lot of blame for the violence in Chicago on police officers. [DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig]
Williams, a Beverly resident, took a Christian view of the topic of policing, referring to the work as a "ministry." He also said that while gun violence is a problem throughout the country, it plays out most in inner city communities.
That said, he believes police work requires a certain personality, namely someone who is willing to put his or her life in jeopardy on a daily basis while wearing many hats including psychologist, nosy neighbor, babysitter and beyond.
"You will never know what it is like to be a police officer until you walk in our shoes," he said.
The Rev. David Kelly, executive director of Precious Blood Ministries of Reconciliation, also spoke at the event and detailed his work with young adults — many coming out of jail.
He told one particularly moving story about a young burglar who, through his group, sat down beside the person whose house he robbed. The tearful exchange between the two sides ended in a breakthrough where the thief was invited to play basketball on a team coached by the man whom he had robbed.
"What happened in that space is that the victim became a mentor," Kelly said.
Following the prayer service, Malloy and Pfleger said they were happy with the outcome. Pfleger also mentioned that his commute to Beverly from St. Sabina in Auburn-Gresham was a mere 10 minutes. With that, he renewed his push for the two communities to work together.
"This is what it has got to be. There has got to be that dialogue," Pfleger said.
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