Is your pastor on the list? DA forms advisory board to strengthen community relationships

In hopes of strengthening his office’s relationship with the public, District Attorney David Cooke announced Tuesday the forming of a Faith and Community Leaders Advisory Board.

The board, made up of 13 faith leaders, began meeting in October to talk about community concerns and the cases that the district attorney’s office is handling.

Cooke said the idea for the group arose in the summer as he talked with his pastor, the Rev. Scott Dickison of First Baptist Church of Christ and the Rev. James Goolsby, pastor at First Baptist Church. The two churches have made strides toward bringing their congregations — one predominantly white and the other mostly black — together. Those efforts were recently chronicled on a CBS News segment.

“I knew that 2016 had been a hard year, and I also knew that given the world that we’re living in, there would be other hard times coming,” said Cooke, whose circuit includes Bibb, Crawford and Peach counties.

By forming the advisory board, Cooke said he hopes to improve the community’s understanding of how and why decisions are made while also getting insight himself into what residents are feeling.

While he can’t meet with everyone, Cooke tried to bring together a group of faith leaders who represent different segments of the community.

Macon is known as a place where people ask each other where they go to church, he said.

“Chances are, every person in Macon knows at least one person on this board, and they can approach that person even if they don’t want to approach me,” Cooke said.

After a couple of meetings, Cooke said he’s learned that the rationale behind prosecutors’ decisions isn’t always clear to the public.

But, after giving the board a better understanding of the facts and the law, “it was very clear,” he said.

The Rev. Paul Little, a board member and pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church, said the group has discussed not just local cases, but also those in the national news.

“This is a time when there is a lot of political, racial and social tension,” he said. “There has been this obvious divide in how people perceive law enforcement as well as how law enforcement may perceive the community.”

After telling members of his congregation and the community of his participation on the board, Little said he’s gotten a sense of hope, but also of skepticism.

But, coming from different backgrounds, the board members share a common interest in humanity’s well-being, Little said.

“Regardless of where we live and what side of town, where we worship, or even who we worship, … it’s important that we come to the table so we can bring some healing to the community,” he said.

Members of the board include: the Rev. James Goolsby, pastor at First Baptist Church; the Rev. Scott Dickison, pastor at First Baptist Church of Christ; the Rev. Reginald Sharpe, campus minister at House of Hope; the Rev. Paul Little, pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church; Rabbi Larry Schlesinger of Temple Beth Israel; Imam Shaikh Adam Fofana of the Islamic Center of Middle Georgia; the Rev. David Stanley, pastor at Union Baptist Church; the Rev. Carlos Kelly, pastor at Beulahland Bible Church; the Rev. Walter L. Glover Jr., pastor at Greater Zion Hill Baptist Church; the Rev. I.E. Mack, pastor at Unionville Missionary Baptist Church; the Rev. Cassandra Howe, pastor at High Street Unitarian Universalist Church; the Rev. Eddie D. Smith Sr. of Macedonia Church; and the Rev. Scott Winchel of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Is your pastor on the list? DA forms advisory board to strengthen community relationships."