Orlando shooting on minds of those at prayer rally in Columbus

Community violence was supposed to be the focus of a prayer rally held in Columbus Sunday afternoon, but much of the talk was about the nightclub shooting in which 50 people died in Orlando, Fla., earlier in the day.

“After hearing that I felt that I just had to come here and pray for some sanity,” Patricia Roberts said.

The Columbus nurse was among 200 people attending the third annual Prayer Rally for Peace and an End to Violence sponsored by Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and the Mayor’s Commission on Unity, Diversity and Prosperity. The event was held at the St. Luke Ministry Center.

It was billed as multidenominational, multicultural effort to bring an end to violence in the community.

“There is nothing more uplifting than to see people gathered, transcending differences and supporting a cause that espouses a positive outcome,” she said.

Roberts came to the event after teaching a Sunday school class at Mount Gilead AME church.

“Columbus has a lot of violence,” she said. “I have worked at the jail and have seen too many kids in handcuffs. I always wonder what could have been done to prevent the violence.”

In her opening remarks, the mayor referred to the horror in Orlando.

Tomlinson called Orlando a city much like Columbus and said that when she saw the news from Florida, she was sure this program was “much in need.”

“I knew we needed prayer,” she said.

As Tomlinson spoke, a woman in the audience held a “God is in Control” sign.

The mayor told those gathered that children should be taught not to envy a man of violence.

“Each of us has the opportunity to touch hundreds of lives,” she said. “We must start a culture of positive peer pressure.”

Following the ceremony, one of the speakers, the Rev. Bo Barber, pastor at Prospect AME Church in Columbus, spoke about the incident in Orlando.

“It makes me as an individual more determined to fight against violence,” he said. “We need to continue to fight against prejudice and injustice. We are all Americans. We are all children of God.”

Other speakers included Pastors Keith Cowart and Derrick Shields of Christ Community Church; Columbus teacher Stefan Lawrence; Shameika Averett of the local victim-witness assistance program; Andrew Chalmers of the Take the City ministry; the Rev. J.H. Flakes III of Fourth Street Baptist Church; Rabbi Beth Schwartz of Temple Israel; Gerald Riley of Overflow Barbershop/Outreach Ministries; and the Rev. Cindy Garrard of St. Luke United Methodist Church.

Music was provided by the Sonya and Joey Roberts of St. James AME Church, as well as the Prospect AME Unity Choir.

Those in attendance stood and clapped to the music and at the end came forward to the stage to hold hands and join in one final prayer.

This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Orlando shooting on minds of those at prayer rally in Columbus."