EVENTS TO SPIRITUALIZE DRUG WAR

ASHEBORO - A prayer vigil on the Randolph County Courthouse steps will be
the first effort to unite Asheboro against drugs this year.

Spearheaded by the Asheboro Drug Task Force, the vigil is scheduled for
6:30 p.m. on April 25. John Butler, one of the organizers, said the event
will proclaim the need to pray for the community, especially in the war
against drugs. Butler said participants will pray for law enforcement
officers and court officials, as well as drug users and dealers.

"It's a simple thing, it seems, but we have not come together as a
community and acknowledged that drugs affect all of us," Butler said. "At
this point, the fight's not only a worldly issue but a spiritual issue."

As Asheboro Drug Task Force members prepare for the courthouse vigil and
several other upcoming events that will publicly oppose drugs this spring,
summer and fall, their scriptual guide is 2 Chronicles, 7:14, in which God
says to Solomon: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land."

You've probably heard the saying, "Prayer helps." In an effort to harness
the power of prayer by getting more church groups involved in the struggle
against drugs, the Asheboro Drug Task Force has launched REFINE Randolph
County. REFINE stands for Righteous Effective Fervent Intercession
Nullifies Enemies. REFINE Randolph County seeks to protect a community with
so many virtues from the evil that lurks in its shadows in the form of
anger, strife, contention, racial division, broken homes, and other social
ills, Butler said.

Butler said he hopes that the religious community will turn out for the
courthouse vigil and future events to help set a moral standard intolerant
of drugs.

"It's not something that we're going to turn blind eyes or deaf ears to,"
Butler said. "We are going to acknowledge that it's present and that it's
wrong."

The vigil is open to anyone who wants to participate. Butler said the vigil
will last about 45 minutes. During the service, representatives from
different segments of the community - white, black and Latino - will lead
the crowd in prayer.

"We welcome everyone in the community," Butler said. "We want as many
people as we can get to fill the area there and send a message to anyone
involved in drugs that Asheboro is not going to take it lying down and let
you do whatever you want to do. We're going to stand up to you."

The next community-wide event targeting drugs will be a prayer banquet on
May 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the AVS Banquet Centre on North Fayetteville Street.
Letters have gone out to local pastors about the event asking them to bring
their "key prayer warriors" to the banquet. At the event, Asheboro Police
Chief Gary Mason will show a video documenting drug activity in the city,
Butler said. The cost is $5 per ticket.

Looking even farther ahead, Butler said vigils against drugs are being
planned for different neighborhoods in the city through summer and into
fall. The first will be held in June on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in
east Asheboro. In July, the location will be Memorial Park on Church Street
near downtown. Next will be North Asheboro in August. And the final rally
will be held at or near Asheboro High School on Park Street in September or
October.

"These are areas where we are gathering to show our solidarity and praying
to refine our community," Butler said.