Churches plan march against heroin
WAYNESBURG – Richard Berkey will march down Route 21 in two weeks to say he’s had enough with the heroin crisis, and he’s hoping thousands will join him.
“It’s not about awareness, we’re already aware of the drugs in our community,” he said. “What we’re saying is ‘we’ve had enough’ and it’s time to take our families back.”
Berkey, pastor of Rolling Meadows Church of God near Waynesburg, along with several area church members and pastors, will march May 14 to make a statement against the opiate epidemic that’s affecting Greene County. The march will begin at 10 a.m. at Greene County Airport and lead to the county fairgrounds, where speakers will take the stage and resource information will be available.
Berkey is the chairman of the March for a Brighter Greene, a committee composed of concerned community members, which was birthed at a town hall meeting on heroin held in October at Greene County Courthouse.
But the community’s concern over the drug epidemic started long before that meeting, Berkey said. It started with a few churchgoers and pastors in the area who began praying for the epidemic.
Then, groups from churches across the county and from various religious denominations started meeting once a month at 5:14 p.m. at the Greene County Fairgrounds to pray for the march and the epidemic.
“I believe prayer is the answer to this whole thing and that’s what this whole march is about so that people can know that we are all one in facing this problem,” Berkey said. “Denominational laws have been put aside and we have one goal: to lift up the name of Jesus so that our hurting families can have recovery.”
Berkey said he’s hoping for 2,000 people to march west on Route 21, part of which will be closed, to the fairgrounds. Berkey said the state Department of Transportation has already approved permits for the group to march that route.
“Drug people and dealers look out and see the church and all of these other churches as individuals, so they’re not really worried about it,” Berkey said. “But all of a sudden, if you have 2,000 people walking down the street saying, ‘we’ve had enough,’ that’s something different because there’s strength in numbers.”
When the group arrives at the fairgrounds, there will be music, food and guest speakers, including state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis, representatives from Teen Challenge USA, and the Rev. Eric Johnson, a pastor from the Duquesne area.
The fairgrounds also will be set up as a recovery resource fair with several organizations that are involved with mental health and drug prevention and recovery. There will also be a prayer tent where people can pray.
“The drug problem is getting worse,” said Jim Maraney, a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Waynesburg. “It’d be wonderful to get rid of it totally.”
Maraney was one of the first people to start organizing the march with Berkey. He said he formerly worked as a paramedic and worked in the state Department of Corrections and has seen the effects of drug abuse. He also said this walk is a personal mission for him since he has extended family members who have struggled with addiction.
“A lot of people are addicted but they want to get rid of it,” he said. “They need help. I’ve seen families that are destroyed by this.”
Lynn Bird, of Morris Township, also will march with a personal cause that day. She lost two of her three daughters to heroin overdoses in 2014, and she doesn’t want any more mothers to experience that kind of loss.
“It’s been amazing to see all the churches coming together for this,” she said. “It’s what my husband and I have wanted to have more awareness and education on what’s been going on with the drug problem.”
The last prayer meeting at the fairgrounds the group will have before the march will be held at 5:14 p.m. Tuesday, which is the National Day of Prayer.
For more information about the march, contact Berkey at 814-591-8351.