ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Aenon Missionary Baptist Church took service outside of its four wall for its annual Solidarity Sunday service.

Reverend Jonathan McReynolds says these services are about tackling specific issues that are impacting Rochester, and this year that's the surge in gun violence.


What You Need To Know

  • Aenon Missionary Baptist Church hosted a solidarity service to address surge in gun violence in Rochester

  • The church believes family is vital in stopping violence

  • Monroe County has mental health and chemical addiction assistance to give people other options than resorting to violence

  • The Solidarity Sunday service is just one of several ‘Stop the Violence’ initiatives that have taken place in the community over the past few months

So far Rochester has already experienced 40 homicide at the halfway point of the 2021 after only having 52 in all of 2020.

"The church has a responsibility to not just watch things transpire in the community, but we have a responsibility to be a part of the solution to what's going on in our community," McReynolds said.

McReynolds believes that there is only one way for the church to address the violence.

"I think that from my role as a pastor in a church community that we address these issues by strengthening the family,” McReynolds said. “Programs are good. Initiatives are good. But when the family structure has been decimated, when it's not stable, it does have an impact on our community."

Deputy County Executive for Monroe County Corinda Crossdale also spoke at the service to remind everyone that Monroe County has mental health and chemical addiction assistance to give people other options than resorting to violence.

The services can be found here

"A lot of times people don't know what to do with that energy after they are impacted by violence in some ways,” Crossdale said. “It's feeding into retaliation and really perpetuating more violence in our community. We believe tapping into services like our behavior health system that we can reduce the violence by helping calm that stir inside of people, that energy, and how do you release it in a different way."

The Solidarity Service is just one of several ‘Stop the Violence’ initiatives that have taken place in the community over the past few months.

Rev. McReynolds thinks the effort is gaining traction, as the last homicide in the city occurred a little more than week ago.

"When the community stands up and says that we are not going to tolerate certain behaviors and actions in our community, it does make a difference,” McReynolds said. “I think engagement makes a difference in solving problems. And I think that's a direct impact in the decrease in violent crimes over the last few weeks."