York gathers to pray for religious, cultural unity

They came from different faiths, races and cultural backgrounds, and they joined hands in York to pray for unity.

They called for an end to the divisiveness and hatred that sparked threats against Muslims in the United States and, more recently, the killing of nine people in a Charleston church.

“We have no room in our hearts for hate,” said Fred Campbell with the Western York County NAACP, which helped to organize the peace march from York City Hall to the York County Courthouse.

Campbell said he hopes York’s march will serve as a “signal to other cities” about the need for unity.

Several hundred people attended the march, including Christians and Muslims, blacks and whites, faith and law enforcement leaders, elected officials and local dignitaries.

Local leaders spoke on the steps of the courthouse after the march.

Ramadan Shakir, a member of the Holy Islamaville community in York, called for people to “break down the barriers of hate. The key to peace lies in Muslim and Christian unity.”

County Councilman Robert Winkler, who represents Western York County, said he was pleased to see the diversity. “It makes me proud to see all of you here,” he said.

Former U.S. Rep. John Spratt, a York native, prayed for God “to lead us together. Help us see clearly those things that unite us and that make us one people.”

The Rev. Sam McGregor with Allison Creek Presbyterian Church spoke of his father, who recently died, and who had sought a 1972 school board election in the lower Richland area on the grounds of peaceful integration. His father lost to an opponent who ran against integration.

McGregor said his father won election to the board in 1972, and when his stance on peaceful integration was mentioned at his funeral, his 1972 election opponent approached the family and told them he’d been wrong.

The Rev. Herb Crump said Christians should pray for those who hate them. “I want to challenge us to pray for our haters. I want us to pray for those who did us wrong, even when we did them right.”

Steve Love, a state NAACP leader, who helped organized the march, inspired by Christian leaders who called on Christians to embrace Muslims after threats against them during the trial of Robert Doggart. Doggart, a failed congressional candidate from Tennessee, pleaded guilty to plotting to kill Muslims in a religious community in New York.

After the march was planned, nine people died in a June 17 church shooting in Charleston and a 21-year-old man was charged with the killings in what is being investigated as a hate crime.

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 12:30 PM with the headline "York gathers to pray for religious, cultural unity."