ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando church is holding a vigil Friday morning for the South Carolina shooting victims while the shooter heads to court for the first time.
Around 250 central Floridians and 16 ministers from across the region gathered at Saint Mark AME Church on Bruton Boulevard to remember the nine victims in Wednesday's shooting.
The prayer service is focused on prayers for the family and friends of the victims of the mass murder.
The pastor of Saint Mark's AME Church said he wanted this to be a chance for people to begin to grieve and talk about how to bring change.
Pastors said the tragedy calls for a time of national mourning and that faith-based communities have been working hard and making great strides in areas of racial reconciliation.
"Love. Love in spite of what we look like. Respect each other, go beyond color," church member Kat Gordon said. "Don't see a person. People always say I don't see color. Yes, you do. When you walk in the room you can see you're white, their Hatian, they're black, but you got to begin to look at a person's heart."
Gordon is a member of the Orange County school board and said she has a personal connection to the Emmanuel AME Church in South Carolina where the shooting took place.
Shooter Dylann Roof is also heading to face a judge for the first time on Friday after police said he confessed because he wanted to start a race war.
Roof's friends said he had recently been ranting about the Trayvon Martin case and wanted to do something for the white race.
WFTV
