PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul hosted an interfaith inaugural prayer service on Tuesday for Mayor Cherelle Parker and her administration.
”May our leaders be guided with integrity, and may their leadership be in your service. May those who lead, inspire, teach and nourish us. May they be blessed with satisfaction.” The words of Rabbi Shawn Zevit echoed the sentiments of leaders of the city’s faith-based communities.
In a show of spiritual solidarity, they were gathered to pray for the success of the city’s leadership as it tackles some of Philadelphia’s most pressing issues, including gun violence.
Speaking of her new leadership, Parker said she and members of City Council are not ashamed to admit feeling vulnerable, and the support is both welcome and necessary.
“A city that is great and this history-making mayor and this new City Council — we can’t do anything without you,” Parker said. “You need our spiritual community activated. They are our most powerful influencers that we have — credible messengers in our communities. And they come from all walks of life.”
The prayer service was intended to help build bridges of peace across all these communities. Rev. Edward Livingston, director of religious community initiatives for Interfaith Philadelphia, said the primary message is unity.
“You have to pray for and care for the city, if you want peace. And so it is terribly important for all walks of life to realize that this is one city. We're on one Earth. We are all breathing air. We are all human beings in creation. And so we must support one another,” Livingston said.
The prayer service included readings from Jewish, Muslim and Christian scripture. The assembled recited a pledge called “A Call from People of Faith to Stop Violence,” written by the Religious Leaders Council of Greater Philadelphia.
“If there's division, then a house can’t stand. It will fall,” said Archbishop Mary Floyd Palmer, president of the Philadelphia Council of Clergy. “So, for me, despite our varied forms of worship, there can be unity of one mind — and that being that we all seek peace, we all want hope, and we absolutely want success.”