Posted on 12/28/2009 8:44:48 AM PST by DCBryan1
‘Work is not done,’ widow says
Wife of Salvation Army pastor speaks of prayer for his killer
EVIN DEMIREL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
Leading a Sunday service in the building where her husband was shot and killed in a Christmas Eve robbery attempt, Salvation Army Major Cindy Wise said her mission to minister to the people in North Little Rock’s Baring Cross neighborhood has not changed.
“I believe I have peace today because I know the work is not done here yet,” Wise told nearly 50 people on Sunday. Standing before the congregation in her navy blue uniform, she said she will continue to work to give “hope to the hopeless ... so, together we will minister to this neighborhood. Together we will still provide salvation and grace to this neighborhood.”
It was her first time in the Salvation Army Corps and Community Center since Thursday, when Philip Wise, also a Salvation Army major, was gunned down as he returned to the North Little Rock center to file paperwork after dropping off two bell ringers on the final day of the Salvation Army’s kettle drive. Police say two (the word "BLACK" removed due to insane political correctness) men dressed in black clothing approached Wise and his three children in the building’s parking lot. They demanded money, then one of the men shot Wise, 40. He died a short time later at the scene.
Cindy Wise, who was alone inside the center at 1505 W. 18th St. when her husband was shot, called the police. Officers found him lying in the building’s back doorway.
“I know that someone will come forward and I know that justice will prevail,” Wise said after the Sunday service. “I know that deep down I have to forgive them for taking my husband away from me, and that’s the way it has to be done ... to forgive them and continue to pray for their salvation.”
“I didn’t know if my children would ever be able to walk through these doors again,” Cindy Wise told the congregants. But since church was so important to their father, they wanted to go, she said. At the end of the service, the children — ages 8, 6 and 4 — joined the adults in the sanctuary, clapping and singing along with the worship band.
The children are “holding up pretty well for the most part,” Wise said after the service, which lasted more than 1 1 /2 hours. “Their dad had made a huge difference in their lives” in the 1 1 /2 years since the couple had adopted them, she added.
“They were Phil’s heart,” said Salvation Army Captain Bob Cornett, a longtime friend of Philip Wise.
Wise’s friends said mentoring children was a big part of his Salvation Army ministry, which he started more than 15 years ago. He had originally worked as a janitor at a Salvation Army center in his hometown of Weirton, W.Va., his wife said.
Described by friends as a big, gentle guy, Philip Wise taught children ages 6-14 years in The Salvation Army Adventure Corps program, said Cavon Phillips, 27, who was training with the Wises to become a Salvation Army officer.
Cindy Wise added that her husband, a tuba player, also taught brass instruments and rhythm to some of the roughly 40-60 youths attending the community center surrounded by the Baring Cross neighborhood. “He was never afraid walking these streets,” she added. The Wises had pastored at the center for 2 1 /2 years.
North Little Rock police have yet to identify any suspects, Sgt. Terry Kuykendall said Sunday afternoon. Before the service, Cornett said: “Someone shot him in the line of ministry.”
The Salvation Army is configured much like a military organization, with commissioned officers of various ranks leading groups of “soldiers” and volunteers.
The international evangelical organization’s mission is to “preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination,” according to its Web site.
Major Harvey Johnson, the organization’s commander for central Arkansas, said that the Salvation Army has set up two funds for those wanting to donate. One will pay for children to attend a Salvation Army summer music camp, and the other will benefit the family, he said. Johnson accompanied Cindy Wise after the service during an interview with reporters, and requested that she not be asked about the shooting.
The North Little Rock center, which also provides youth programs and a food pantry, will open today as usual. A public memorial service for Wise is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at First Assembly of God, 4501 Burrow Drive, in North Little Rock.
Pulaski County Crime Stoppers and private contributors have promised a $3,000 reward for any information on the slaying, Kuykendall said. Anyone with information may call the police at (501) 758-1234.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND
Cindy Wise (left) is comforted Sunday at the Salvation Army Corps and Community Center in North Little Rock.
However, it only takes a 10 second encounter with one to change everything.
Get a gun, practice, and use it if necessary. Stop hoping you won't be victimized. Don't allow yourself to be victimized.
You are right, but no one believes it until it hits them or brushes by them. The destruction can come in an instant.
The killers are still on the loose, and the neighborhood is infested with the "no snitchin'" attitude because Wise was "just a white devil"....so no harm done. As I understand it, NLRPD has run up against ALOT of resistance from government housing residents in which the two (youts) were last seen running towards.
Absolutely pathetic. Methinks that Mrs. Wise is putting herself and her children at risk of more violence if they remain in that area.
I’ll be perfectly happy to join her in prayer.
Dear Lord, smite the POS that killed Philip Wise. Amen.
How? The residents of the government housing community have "clammed up"....due to the "STOP SNITCHIN'" crap you see on MTV and MSM.
They won't help the NLRPD unless the reward money gets higher....
When I’m with my family I am always armed with a knife and a firearm. Period.
I’m wondering if this black guy was muslim.
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