Prayer walks across the city for unity
Toronto Police Service (TPS) Chief Myron Demkiw joined service members, faith community leaders and community members for a prayer walk in the city’s downtown core on May 8.
“We recognize the benefit of coming together as multi-faiths in our commitment for safer and better communities,” he said. “The one thing that unifies us across faith communities is our commitment to humanity and our commitment to a shared goal of community safety and well-being. This is one of those opportunities that clear a path for us to go into communities and help build trust and promote healing and better well-being.”
This is the second year that TPS members and faith leaders simultaneously walked in every Division.
Colin Stairs, TPS Chief Transformation Officer, walked in 31 Division last year.
“People who lost family members to gun violence walked with us in 2024 in the rain, including a mother who had her son’s photo on her shirt,” he recalled. “At its core, you cannot create public safety without the community’s involvement. Being out in the community is important if we want to get their support. In this case, we are doing it with faith groups.”
Reverend Earl Smith of the Church of Scientology also participated in the walk last year.
“It helps to bring peace and bridge the gap between the police and the communities they serve,” he said. “People also need to be reminded that we can live together peacefully.”
The downtown faith walk started at Dundas Square and finished at First Toronto Baptist Church which is the oldest Black institution in Toronto and the oldest in Ontario.
It was established in 1826.
Reverend Wendell Gibbs, who has been part of pastoral networks for the last 25 years, is the church’s pastor.
“It is important that the faith community and law enforcement demonstrate a sense of unity and community against the ongoing violence, racism and hate that is playing out in our city and the world,” said the TPS chaplain. “When we walk together in harmony, we want to show we can model what the world needs which is peace and harmony.”
Every month for the last 20 years, Toronto Police Neighbourhood Officers in 23 Division and Black faith leaders have walked through Etobicoke, meeting community members and engaging them in prayer.
The Prayer Walk is an extension of the Etobicoke Strategy led by Reverends Carmen Lewis and Andrew King.
Bishop Ransford Jones chairs the Canadian Black Clergy & Allies that emerged in 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd murder in Minnesota.
“Prayer is a critical part of what we do as faith leaders,” he pointed out. “We believe we should invoke the divine in what we are doing. Toronto has its challenges, but we believe that when police, faith leaders and the community come together, we can deal with some of the issues.”
