After violence as senseless as the police ambushes in Iowa, church members in Clarksville did what they do best.
They pray.
But at the St. John Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Alvin Miller decided Wednesday prayer alone was not enough
"We just feel as though if the church remains silent then who will speak on the injustice that is being done in the community?" he asked.
He invited the police chief to join the congregation for a vigil that both honored the recent fallen police officers and the men who have been killed by police.
And kids in the congregation helped read the 60 names.
"Unless we have a conversation nothing gets solved," Miller said.
No police officers have died in Clarksville in the 10 years since Al Ansley has been Chief.
"Every night I lose sleep thinking that will happen," he addressed the congregation, "I pray that it does not."
And the pastor says African Americans feel safe in the area. But they both agreed that keeping a open conversation is important.
"We can't become too comfortable because anything can happen anywhere," Miller said.
Because thee names they read are people with families, people who kept their communities safe and people just like some of the folks praying for them in Middle Tennessee.
