Following last week’s presidential election results, local religious leaders gathered for an interfaith prayer vigil at the Peekskill Riverfront on Sunday. Their goal was to show a united front as they did on the first day of voting.
The vigil led by Pastor Valerie Paul-Greenway of the United Methodist Church of Peekskill had a group of about 18 and had five speakers across Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism. While the name Donald Trump was not mentioned, it was clear that many were unhappy about his win over Kamala Harris and fearful for the future.
“I think it’s important to recognize that God is God, meaning that God has not forsaken us, that God has brought us to this place, and God will continue to keep us and lead us forward,” Paul-Greenway said to fellow prayers. “Those are the words that I have for you today. To be encouraged, to rest, and rise and put all our faith and trust in God and God alone.
In her speech, Rev. Cheryl Parris of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, referenced the 1918 Malbone Street wreck, which killed a reported 93 to 102 passengers. It was the deadliest crash in the history of New York City’s subway and second-deadliest train crash in U.S. history. Following that wreck, wooden cars were phased out of the subway.
“As we look back on the tragedy, we honor those lives we lost and the families who were affected,” Parris said. “But we also recognize that disaster often results in changes and improvements to systems and protocols to help prevent such tragedies from ever happening again. So read into that what you will but we must never let some stuff happen again.”
Rev. James Perry of Mount Olivet Baptist Church read an excerpt from the late Black American poet Langston Hughes ‘Let America be America’ in which Hughes said “America never was America to me.” In tying the poem to the prophet Jeremiah who was exiled from his home several times, Perry encouraged hope and had attendees link hands in prayer.
“It’s a long week out of what’s going to be a long season,” he said. “God is with us. That does not mean it will not be a hard time. God has stood with us through some things that we should never forget. Stay hopeful, stay prayerful. Every now and again, sit for a spell when you get angry and when you get resigned. But don’t let your resignation outdo your resilience.”
Peekskill resident Charisse Rhodes who was emotional during the event told the Herald the event bringing people together in one accord brought her hope.
“I’m still distraught over what has happened,” Rhodes said. “I have mixed emotions, but I wanted to be here to join as a group, to come together as a community to build. We may be down now, but we have to just keep being encouraged and support each other through this time. We’ll get through it.”
President of Peekskill’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Priscilla Augustin, told the Herald she hoped there will be more interfaith prayers as the nation heals and advocated for unity over hate.
“We’ve been at a time where it’s important to unite our community and there is a spirit of division in not just our community, (but) in our nation and the United States,” she said. “So if each city, each state, each community, continues to promote unity, love and not hate and not discrimination, not sexism, we’re still standing by the work that needs to be done.”
