Hundreds attend prayer vigil

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By Carla Hinton | Published: November 1, 2007 Comment on this article

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Clergy members from various Christian denominations along with representatives from the Muslim faith community stood together near the steps of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 2706 S Shartel. They said prayers of encouragement and hope for immigrants fearful of the impact of the state's immigration reform law known as House Bill 1804.

The Rev. Lance Schmitz, the Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene social justice minister who helped organize the gathering, noted that the vigil was being held on the law's implementation date.

"Brothers and sisters, we come together today on the strangest of days,” Schmitz said.

"We've entered into a new culture — a culture of fear and a culture of suspicion. Help us to combat that. You can do it with love. Do good. Our various faith traditions require us to do good.”

The crowd that listened to his words included Hispanics and people of other races.

Sergio Gallegos of Oklahoma City said he was encouraged by the gathering, and he shouted out, encouraging others to stand together.

"Today is our chance to take a stand against evil,” said Gallegos, a member of St. Eugene Catholic Church in northwest Oklahoma City.

"The people of Oklahoma are better than that. We just need to show them the way.”