Family violence: it’s the most common, yet least reported crime in the nation. A group of local ministers is hoping to bring this painful truth to light while providing some practical solutions for the community.

A program called “Healing Our Land: The Church, Domestic Violence and the Truth” is slated for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 13 at the Greenville High School Auditorium. Praise, worship and lots of practical information on dealing with tough issues are all on tap, say organizers.

Local pastor Robert White said the idea started through a conversation with personnel at the Family Sunshine Center in Montgomery, an organization dedicated to assisting victims of domestic violence and their families. The South Central branch serves Butler, Crenshaw and Lowndes, along with Autauga, Chilton, Elmore and Montgomery counties.

“I originally contacted the Family Sunshine Center a few months ago about doing a program for my church congregation about domestic violence,” White said.

“And then, just in the last month or so, we’ve seen a couple of cases of domestic violence right here in Butler County end tragically.”

Those tragedies provided the incentive White needed to reach out beyond his own congregation.

“I had this vision of making this a community-wide outreach and shared that vision with a number of local pastors – and now it is a community program open to anyone who wants to participate.”

Members of the FSC will be on hand that evening to talk with the audience.

Local pastor Leander Robinson is also slated to speak and discuss ways churches can provide practical, compassionate help for their communities.

“We will have separate break-out sessions, one for the women, and one for the men, that will give them a chance to go into more detail,” said White.

“We will also provide valuable tips on anger management to help keep this abuse from happening.”

Describing domestic violence as something “that usually exists under cover of darkness,” White said discussing the subject in the open could make a big difference in some lives.

“A lot of times, when people who are involved in these situations know that you know, that these issues do exist for them, it helps put them on the road to recovery,” White said.