Interfaith Prayer Vigil Held for Children

October 21, 2000

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On October 21, 2000, The Baltimore Sun reported that "the hum of gospel hymns, clapping hands and fervent prayer echoed off the glass walls of the office towers surrounding Charles Center Plaza yesterday as young and old gathered to observe an interfaith Sabbath for children. About 100 Christians, Jews and Muslims joined hands and voices as they prayed for the youth in Baltimore in a local vigil that was part of the Children's Sabbath, an annual event sponsored by the National Children's Defense Fund. As part of the observance, more than 50 Baltimore-area churches, mosques and synagogues kept their doors open from 8 a.m. until 8 p. m. yesterday, and will do the same today, to encourage prayers for the welfare of the next generation. 'We have come together in the spirit of prayer, because Baltimore needs prayer,' said Bishop Douglas I. Miles, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance. 'If anything's going to save this city, if anything is going to turn around what's going on in this city, it's going to be our God. We're going to call on him in all of our traditions: those who bend beneath the star of David, those who bow at the cross, those who kiss the black star of Mecca, are coming together to call on God ... it's prayer time!' Rabbi Floyd Herman of Har Sinai Congregation prayed for parents 'as they struggle to instill in their children a love of God's name, an understanding of right and wrong. We know, oh God, that they have an awesome task in a world in which the lives of their children are invaded by forces which are often beyond their control,' he said. 'Parents strive to raise their children to value life and love and goodness and justice. Help them, we pray, in their efforts.'"