Greenville community members pray for peace and unity

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) – Days after an assassination attempt on the former president, local interfaith leaders and activists joined together in a community prayer at John Wesley United Methodist Church.

“Our differences, especially when it comes to political differences, need to be settled at the ballot, not by the bullet,” said Traci Fant, organizer of Freedom Fighters Upstate. “Everybody gets out the vote, they make their choice. That’s it.”

Saturday at former president Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania, he was grazed by a bullet. Two people died, including the shooter, and two others were hurt.

“That which I saw on Saturday was very alarming and I fear that if we don’t start now it’s going to get worse,” said U.A. Thompson. “Once and for all let us be the generation, let us be the age, let’s stamp out hate and racism and discrimination and all of the divisive level of politics that we have at play. Let us be the generation to stop that and truly see our neighbor as our neighbor and see our friend as our friend.”

After a series of prayers about peace, unity and change, activists and preachers voiced hopes for the community moving forward.

“We can pray all day, but if we’re not being effective in the prayer, we’re not going to actually unify with each other, actually create a space of peace and freedom for people, and then it’s just gonna fall flat,” Fant said.

Activists said the community prayer wasn’t just a push for peace on a national level but from a local standpoint as well.

“A few weeks ago my life was threatened and it was a very intense experience. It was an experience that I’ve never felt before. Being targeted just because I’m black and because I run an organization that people perceive speaks up for black people made this person target me, and I just felt like it was not okay,” Fant said.

Organizers said there was a peaceful presence in the room as people from different backgrounds and religious denominations stood up to speak.

“I think that is a moving experience and I believe it also moves God to intervene on behalf of humanity and do something about the conditions and the things that they’re facing,” Thompson said.

Community activists plan to host more community prayers in the future.

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