Strong Faith Family Church and DVCCC hold vigil in memory of Jamica Woods
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Jamica’s cousin, Angela Shelton, sings “Take Me to the King”. She also read a poem written by her husband.
COATESVILLE – Part memorial, part education to help prevent such tragedies in the future, the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County held a vigil in memory of Jamica Woods at Ash Park on Monday evening.
Woods, who was 37, was allegedly shot and killed by her boyfriend Gregory A. Twyman in May. The two had a history of domestic problems, including Twyman serving jail time in 1999 for terroristic threats to Woods, which was cited in Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan’s decision for his office to seek the death penalty when Twyman faces trial.
However, Monday night focused on the positives of Woods’s life.
“If you knew Jamica, you loved Jamica,” said Charity Longenecker, wife of Strong Faith Family Church’s Pastor David Longenecker. “Jamica was not just a friend, she was a family member to us.”
Woods was set to graduate from Harrisburg Area Community College with a degree in computer information systems at the same time that her daughter graduated high school. Woods was a member of national honor society Phi Beta Kappa and made dean’s list twice.
As the evening sun pushed through the clouds, Pastor David Longenecker oversaw proceedings. Jamica’s friends and family members shared stories, sang songs, and read poetry to commemorate her.
Jamica’s cousin, Angela Shelton, sang a powerful rendition of Tamela Mann’s “Take Me to the King”.
“I never imagined in a million years I would be here wearing a t-shirt with my cousin’s name on it, talking about her without her being here,” said another cousin.
Family members told stories about how Jamica was enthusiastic about getting them to go to church, about shopping sprees, how she once bought a luggage bag’s worth of flip-flops just in case she needed them.
In addition to all the academic honors she earned, Jamica’s daughter, Janaija, said that Jamica was a good mother. She told about the pond in their backyard where Jamica would sit and read the Bible. The day before her death, they were driving back from Ocean City. Together, the two of them played their music and danced in the car.
Part of remembering Jamica was helping to prevent such events from happening to others.
“Girls, don’t let the men do to you what they did to my daughter,” said Gloria J. Holos, Jamica’s mother. “The rest of my life is dedicated to helping people in domestic violence situations.”
Pastor Longenecker shared statistics about domestic abuse, how 30% of women who are murdered are killed by husbands or boyfriends. He said to look out for manipulation and extreme self-centeredness, qualities often present in abusive partners.
He also said that preventing abuse means questioning some widely-accepted lessons from the church. Some of the blanket statements that people believe are pulled out of context and do not apply to the complexities of all situations.
“We have got to challenge some of our doctoral stances,” he told those in attendance. “Just because this is what I’ve heard growing up—is this what the Bible really says?”
He also said that forgiveness is a matter of letting go, not just of things that people have done wrong, but sometimes letting go of those people altogether.
“Forgiveness means ‘to send away’; it doesn’t mean to enter in the same relationship that’s going to cause pain,” he said.
One of Jamica’s family members shared her own story of abuse, saying that leaving such a relationship is difficult, that the person being abused should not be blamed.
“It’s not as easy as people think it is,” she said. “When you get tired of the tired, it’s hard to get away.”
Other church members talked about how even those close to her did not know Jamica was in an abusive relationship.
“If stuff goes on like this, you can’t shut up. You can’t be embarrassed,” said Carol Bawell, a close friend of Jamica’s.
Bawell also said that people in abusive relationships should have a ‘go bag’, a bag with clothes, money, and legal documents in case they need to leave home quickly to escape a situation. Places like the DVCCC offer emergency housing, legal advocacy, and other services for those in need.
After the pastor and family members finished speaking, people lingered in the park. Related by blood or not, the scene took on the feel of a family reunion. People hugged, shared more stories, and laughed together.
