'Let love win:' Kenosha looks to heal after police shooting, unrest

KENOSHA, Wis. - As cleanup in Kenosha continues, the community tries to move forward and heal following the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the violent unrest that followed.

"We are gathered today for one simple reason. Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by Officer Rusten Sheskey," said Rev. Jonathan Barker of Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha.

On the lawn of Grace Lutheran Church, a community stood as one united by feelings that include pain, fear, anger and sadness.

"We are a fractured community, fractured by racism and poverty," said Paul Petersen, senior pastor at St. Mary's Lutheran Church.

Community comes together at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha

"Our Bible says that our Christ overcame evil with good," Tavis Grant, bishop with Rainbow Push Coalition, said.

Parishioners shared space with strangers on Wednesday. Pastors from various congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offered time for prayer, confession and a road forward.

Calls for change -- and for Kenosha to lead by example -- were echoed by attendee Chris Daughtery, who said she has no doubt in the city's resilience.

"Change is going to happen. I feel it," said Daughtery. "We have the passion, we have the love here, I've seen it day in and day out, we're not going to let hate rise here, we're going to let love win."

Community comes together at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha

For attendee Elizabeth Webb, she said the police shooting of Blake brought her to tears and to her knees in prayer.

"We've been going through racial discrimination and harassment by the Kenosha police for years. It's been going on, and it has to come to a stop," Webb said.

There is still a long road ahead, Webb said, and those around her on Wednesday offered a sign of hope.

"To have as many allies as we have right now, God is placing them where they need to be right now," Webb said.

Wednesday night in Kenosha was the first without curfew in more than a week. Still, fencing remained in place around the Kenosha County Courthouse.