Hill District Church Prays For Recent Shooting Victims
HILL DISTRICT (KDKA) -- The message at Sunday morning's service at a Hill District church was all too familiar.
Church leaders continue to pray for victims of gunfire all across the country.
It was not the typical worship service at Macedonia Baptist Church in the Hill District.
Prayers were spoken for families of black men shot in Minnesota and Louisiana, along with five police officer killed in Dallas.
"We're heartbroken by the loss of police and by the loss of black lives," Pastor Brian Edmonds said. "We believe that all lives matter."
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Pastor Edmonds says it's time to move from lament and anguish to hope and trust. He asked members to write down the names of anyone in need of prayer and encouragement and bring them to the altar.
"Maybe you want to write the names of police departments in general, law enforcement in general, we want to lay them at the altar," he said.
The pastor blames a form of cancer in these turbulent times that's tearing the country apart.
"It's become fear and hatred," he said. "It's become racism and discrimination. It's become violence."
Edmonds says the cancer continues to spread from one city to another.
"One morning, we wake up and we're praying for Minneapolis," he said. "The next morning, we wake up and we're praying for Louisiana. The next morning, we wake up and we're praying for Dallas."
At one point, the lights were turned off and the blinds in the church were closed briefly. It was a reminder that the light will always overcome darkness.
"Don't forget, church, that not only did God say let there be light, then Jesus said you are the light," Edmonds said.
