MILTON — Pastor Mike Brown of West Florida Baptist Church and Murray Hamilton of Heart of God Ministries are just two community leaders wanting to build a stronger community.
West Florida Baptist Church recently hosted ‘Love My Neighbor Day.’ During the community event, participants watched demonstrations from local first response and law enforcement agencies, participated in activities and heard from several key speakers including Milton Police Chief Tony Tindell, Daniel Hahn with Santa Rosa County Emergency Management, and Milton High School football Coach Chafan Marsh, among others.
Brown estimated nearly 1,000 attended the event, and said the church is considering having a similar day soon.
The goal was to further solidify a bond within the community, especially among African Americans and law enforcement.
“If we had an event … we could show that if we know each other, we could love each other and we could break down those barriers,” Brown said.
Brown believes the relationship between law enforcement and community is already strong, stating the big issue facing local law enforcement is people not locking their vehicles.
Hamilton agreed, saying both sides have “a great relationship,” crediting the work of Santa Rosa County Sheriff Wendell Hall, former Milton Police Chief Greg Brand and his newly named replacement Tony Tindell.
The answer to avoiding tense situations is finding common ground.
“We just need to bring awareness,” Hamilton said. He said both sides actually have a lot in common.
Having such public events will allow each aspect of the community to share perspective and insight.
“We just want to bridge that gap,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Local pastor, community leader share thoughts on 'Love My Neighbor' event