CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The community gathered Sunday night to heal and pray for the families affected by Chesapeake mass shooting.
The Chesapeake Coalition of Black Pastors held a 757 United Prayer vigil to wrap their arms around the families affected.
“The reality is it was important to send a message that we are one. We got to stand unified,” Bishop Kim Brown of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church said. “The worst thing you can say to any of those families is I know what you are going through. The only thing you can do is listen. Cry with them; try to be there.”
Through prayer and music, guests who attended the vigil came together to pay their respects and to show the families of the victims how much the community supports them.
“I hope it really encouraged the families. The crowd was magnificent. I hope they felt the love and support,” he said.
When guests first arrived at the vigil, they were met by a 10-foot cedarwood cross at the front door being held by Dan Beazley from Detroit, Michigan.
Beazley loads his F-150 with the wood cross and travels to tragedies that take place around the country. He says that he has traveled with his wood cross to 17 different states since May.
“Things are changing. I think we can all realize that,” he said. “They will recover from this. It will take some time. They just need to put their arms around each other and love on each other.”
People met at the Mount Lebanon Baptist Church to simply love on each other no matter their differences and to pay their respects and honor the lives lost.
“There were pastors across all denominations lines. The reality is we have to tear down these walls. These man-made walls,” Bishop Brown said. “A divided house cannot stand and it’s time, not just the body of Christ but the nation, our city, to unify.”