TOLEDO, Ohio — Members of Toledo's faith community came together Thursday to hold a prayer service for those affected and wounded by the shooting at a Whitmer High School football game last week.
Pastor Cedric Brock has been a leader in the faith community for years. He's led countless prayers before and has connections in the area, which assisted in organizing the prayer Thursday.
"A bunch of pastors and bishops and doctors got together and we thought it was very important that they see that we care," he said.
Brock, a reverend at Mt. Nebo Baptist Church, said events like this one create love and understanding.
"If we let this go and we did nothing, then shame on us," he said. "We would miss the moment of capturing the heart of the people that we represent. We don't want them to think that we don't care. We do care."
Tommy Youngquist, a pastor at Calvary Bible Chapel, was also invited to the event.
"Anybody that was affected, any victims, anybody that wants to talk to us anywhere, we just want to pray for them and we want to be there for them," Youngquist said. "We're actually putting our money where our mouths are, here, for them. That's what we want to accomplish today."
People like Barbara Herzog came to support the leaders in faith. Herzog and her husband pastor the Vineyard Church in downtown Toledo. She said events like these make the community even stronger.
"It's going to take all of us to make a difference in our city," Herzog said. "When we come together in unity, and as one voice, it makes us stronger. And we can actually strategize on how we can make a difference within our communities."
WTOL 11 spoke with school officials before the event started. They said they were happy to have faith leaders here in a show of solidarity.