Pastor fears the toll of summer violence
Every year around this time, the Rev. Evan Hines feels anxious as he braces for the spike in violence that sadly comes with summer in Boston. So he opens up his sprawling Roxbury church to the city’s children and teens.
“I don’t want to see another kid shot, stabbed and killed — at all, ” Hines told me Monday at Eliot Congregational Church, where he’s been senior pastor for 12 years. “I’m very concerned.”
Hines was among city clergy members who met Monday with Mayor Martin Walsh, police Commissioner William G. Gross, Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins and other city officials to come up with a plan to curb violence as the temperature rises.
The plan includes summer jobs for youngsters, peace walks, Boston’s Teen Police Academy, the National Night Out event and Operation Exit, a reentry program that helps young people with criminal records get apprenticeships with the building trades.
For the last three summers, Eliot Congregational Church has been a wonderful refuge for the neighborhood’s youth. Kids take part in the church’s free summer arts, music and basketball programs — there’s a fullsize court inside the church. About 25 teens are hired for paying summer jobs at the church.
All of this hinges on about $65,000 in funding the church hopes to receive from the city and other sources. Between 150 and 200 youngsters, age 7 to young adults, are expected at the church this summer.
“I’d love to see us engage as many children as possible, all ages,” said Hines, who said it’s “heartbreaking” to turn away youngsters who want jobs. “Where are they going to go?”
Summer programs, Hines said, are critical. “The kids needs something to do,” said Hines, who said the fear is the same every summer. “You never want to see anyone hurt, whether it’s a kid, an adult, a senior.”
Like many clergy across the city, Hines has officiated too many funerals for kids killed by guns.
“I probably have more experience with that than I’d like to admit,” he said. “What do you say? There’s no magic prescription to give people. There’s no verse or scripture that answers every situation. It’s very difficult for the family and difficult for the clergy members.”
Hines, 51, a married father of three daughters, grew up a few blocks from his church. He earned degrees from Boston College and Boston University and a doctorate from Northern Seminary. He was a pastor in Chicago before moving back to Boston.
Hines hopes his church has a lasting, positive impact on youngsters. Especially this summer.
“I hope when they leave after being here,” he said, “they’ll reflect back on it and say, ‘I went to that church’ and that made a difference in their lives.”