Church prays for city to make informed decision

To the editor,

The Anna City Council is in the process of considering changes to our current city ordinances with regard to alcohol sales. 

At Anna Heights Baptist Church we care for our community and feel as though we are a part of the collective effort to generate a better society, not only for today but for future generations. 

It is out of love for our community that we join in the conversation regarding these ordinances. 

Our laws and ordinances are a reflection of our collective moral conscience. 

To date, our collective moral conscience has determined that the sale of alcohol on Sunday and the sale or use of alcohol at events in the Anna City Park are unacceptable. 

Understandably there is a portion of our community that believes these ordinances are too strict and there is a portion of our community that believes they are not strict enough.

 Our city leaders are now faced with the task of making a decision. 

As a Church, and together with law enforcement, alcohol treatment facilities and others in the community, we are on the front lines of dealing with the after-effects of alcoholism. 

While it is understood that everyone who drinks is not an alcoholic, it is undeniable that alcoholism is a contributing factor to all kinds of abuse, family strife, personal financial ruin, depression, hopelessness, poor health, drunk driving, etc. 

For some, it may be easy to dismiss these issues, but for those who deal with these effects on a daily basis, these issues are not so easily dismissed. 

We would submit that our community would realize economic, societal and community gain if restrictions on alcohol were tightened rather than loosened. 

The idea that long-term financial gain would be realized by loosening restrictions is not taking the full picture into account. 

Broken families, rehab, health costs and many other factors all contribute to our current economic plight. 

Surely there are very few families who would be pleased to bring their children to the Fair or sporting event, only to introduce them to alcoholic consumption, drunkenness and its effects. 

The collective tool that we have with which to stem the tide of destruction is our city ordinances. 

Perhaps we should consider using these tools to help the problem rather than extend the problem. 

We will pray for our city leaders as they seek to make informed decisions and we would encourage our community to support our local businesses every day of the week. 

We love our community and will continue to serve the best we can. 

God Bless, Pastor Mark Roath, Anna Heights Baptist Church