From pulpits, a call to halt gun violence

To a church organ's soft chords and a chorus of amens came a preacher's prayer for peace and a solemn pledge: to curb the escalating violence gripping city neighborhoods by supporting witnesses of crime, canvassing high-crime areas, and reaching out to troubled young people.

''Our city is crying out for hope," said the Rev. Gregory G. Groover, pastor at Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church in Roxbury, at a morning service yesterday, drawing grim nods from the congregation. ''Our children are being killed in the street. The world is counting on us to be that moral voice and reclaim our community."

In fiery sermons, fervent prayers, and quiet, determined calls to action, clergy and worshipers across the city yesterday echoed Groover's prayer for an end to bloodshed and his vow for a more aggressive, unified, grass-roots fight against gang and gun violence.

At a meeting of political and religious leaders held last week to discuss ways to reduce the high murder rate, pastors in about 70 predominantly black churches decided to devote time in Sunday services to denounce violence and pray for a respite in the shooting attacks that have plagued Boston in recent weeks.

At Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan, hundreds of churchgoers attended two special services to honor relatives of homicide victims. About 40 people rose in the pews when victims' relatives were asked to stand during the 11 a.m. service.

There have been 67 homicides in Boston this year, the city's highest annual total in a decade. (The vast majority have been in the black community.) Police have struggled to identify suspects in the slayings, raising fears of witness intimidation and a culture against cooperating with authorities.

In response, authorities have recently stepped up sweeps of high-crime neighborhoods and vowed to increase gun prosecutions.

Last week, Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole announced that police would be working more closely with youth advocates and pastors to target at-risk teenagers and to warn gang members about the consequences of violence.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said in a telephone interview yesterday that churches represent a key ally in crime reduction.

''Everyone has a responsibility to be part of the solution," Menino said. ''Police can't do it all themselves."

Pastors can be a great help to police by persuading teenagers and young adults to tell police what they know about crimes, Menino said.

That message rang forth at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Jamaica Plain, where the Rev. Ray Hammond urged congregants to help stem the city's crime wave by supporting victims and witnesses.

''We cannot, we will not allow you to terrorize our community," said Hammond, chairman of the Boston TenPoint Coalition, an anticrime group credited in part with reducing crime in the last decade. ''We will not have mothers and grandmothers afraid to step out of their homes. We're not going to live like that."

Bethel A.M.E. and other predominantly black congregations plan to begin training volunteers in the next few weeks to offer support for crime witnesses and to increase antiviolence community marches, Hammond said.

At Charles Street A.M.E., Groover decried the ''spirit of indifference and intimidation" that allows criminal activity to flourish.

''Those children belong to us," he said, drawing a spirited echo in response. ''We are going to protect them."

The clergy involvement marks a return to a faith-based campaign of the 1990s, when a coalition of religious leaders and community groups -- under the banner of the TenPoint Coalition -- drew wide acclaim for helping law enforcement sharply reduce urban violence.

Authorities have attributed the surge in homicides to a reduced number of police officers, a growing gang problem, the release of criminals from jail, and the easy availability of guns.

At Global Ministries Christian Church in Dorchester, about 30 congregants pledged to protect their community and their church, which Pastor Bruce H. Wall worried might be a target because of his outspoken stance against gun trafficking.

Wall, who in August spent a week with several followers living on Lyndhurst Street in Dorchester to deter drug dealers, said he planned to meet with the president of the New Hampshire Association of Police Chiefs today to discuss ways to stem the flow of illegal guns from New Hampshire to Boston. Wall said there has long been an influx of guns from out of state.

At Charles Street A.M.E., young congregants said they believed churches deter crime by giving wayward youngsters identity and purpose and acting as a type of watchful parent. ''If you get in trouble on the streets, someone in this church will know," said Jonathan Lewis, 18. ''It's like a family watching over you."

But others, calling for greater support for youth-based programs and tougher gun control measures, said religious institutions can only do so much.

''It's good when the church speaks out, but nobody can take the place of parents," said Eileen Holman of Dorchester, a Charles Street parishioner. ''Too many children aren't being taught right from wrong."

Down the street, the Rev. William Weeks of Emmanuel Temple Pentecostal Church, said he preaches against violence every Sunday, but isn't sure how much his words have helped.

''There's so much senseless violence," he said. ''Most of us are mystified by the crimes committed by youngsters."

Globe correspondent Michael Levenson and staff writer Adrienne Samuels contributed to this report.