Organizers of the Stop The Violence Prayer Walk events have scheduled two events this week, including a dinner with Dominic Stokes, founder of the Community Teen Coalition in Atlanta, and a gospel and jazz concert featuring locally and nationally known artists.

The "meet and greet" dinner with Stokes will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at The Ark, 1015 SW Park. The event will include a dinner, a meeting with Stokes and entertainment. The complimentary dinner is open to local ministers.

Stokes was keynote speaker during a gang town hall meeting here Dec. 7. Community Teen Coalition is a youth enrichment program designed to generate the skills and motivation teens need for future success. There will also be a discussion concerning a proposal to create a Community Teen Coalition in Lawton that would be similar to the Atlanta organization.

"We're hoping that 20 pastors will attend," said Sam Moyd, pastor of Zoe Christian Center. "If we can work together, we can accomplish a lot more."

The Stop the Violence Concert is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at McMahon Memorial Auditorium, 801 NW Ferris. Performers will include nationally known gospel artist Dewayne Woods of Chicago, along with local groups that include Word Alive Church, DES Gospel, Devon and The Promise Son, along with the band Taylor Made Jazz of Oklahoma City.

"They are multicultural performers," said event organizer Tony Que.

There will also be presentations by Stokes and Debra Brown of Zoe Christian Center during the concert. Prayers will presented along with testimonies about the effects of the Stop the Violence Prayer Walks have had on the neighborhoods in which they've been conducted. Following the concert, pastors will be available to meeting individually with attendees for prayer and other spiritual needs.

Advance tickets are $10 each and may be purchased at the auditorium and at New York Fashions, 2126 W. Gore. Tickets at the door will be $15 each. Proceeds from the concert will go toward youth programs in the community.

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