Omar Mateen was badly mistaken if he had thought that mowing down people at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida would divide the people of the city.
Instead of that, the June 12 massacre brought the people of Orlando together as they expressed their unity in prayer.
A city-wide prayer event was held in Orlando on June 14, according to Christian Headlines. Each of the victims' names was read from a pulpit, and a bell was rung after each name.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is very grateful to the local clergy for bringing the community together during this heartbreaking moment in its history. Even though Christians and LGBT people do not often see eye to eye, Pastor Joel Hunter and Victoria Kirby York of the National LGBTQ Task Force attended the prayer event in a show of solidarity.
York expressed her appreciation to the churches for coming together for the Orlando victims, because sadly, she said many LGBT people have not experienced love and care from churches.
"Far too many have never witnessed a sight like this: a church where they can come, be prayed over and not be forced to change who they are or who they love," she said.
Meanwhile, Alexander Bashir, a representative at the Islamic Society of Greater Jackson, announced a prayer service on Friday with fellow Muslims to honour the victims and denounce terrorism.
"These people (Muslim extremists) are trying to promote their own agenda and they're just hijacking our great faith to promote their agenda," Bashir told Michigan Live. "We need to put together a way for the Muslims of this community to stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow citizens, and denounce terrorism. All of these groups that are fighting in the name of Islam, they are the worst enemies of Muslims themselves."
