South Bend church hosts vigil in support of Black Lives Matter

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A crowd of about one hundred people of all ages and backgrounds took part in a solidarity vigil at the lawn of Episcopal Cathedral of St. James Friday afternoon, one hour before downtown’s protest demonstrations.

“We are trying to do what the church always does in a time of great turmoil, and that is gather,” Rev. Brian Gantz of St. James said.
“Gather to be with one another, to support one another, but principally to gather to pray.”

The vigil was organized by not one, but nine total churches of different denominations, and the cause they said, they wanted to make clear.

 “What happened to George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many others is a disregard for the dignity of their lives and the image of God that is in each one of them,” the church’s Community Outreach Director Steven Slaubaugh said.

For those in attendance, it was not only about remembrance, but a change to bring about racial justice.

“It means that hopefully there’s a shift,” South Bend resident Valerie Golden said.
“That we have made a paradigm shift In this country, and that we are going to care about each other. And that we’re going to recognize that black men (and) people of color are human beings, and that we’re going to treat our brothers and sisters as such.”