STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It's been five days since Hamas attacked Israel, sparking war in the Middle East. Despite being thousands of miles away in Stroudsburg, Rev. Dr. Sidnie Crawford of Christ Episcopal Church, who has friends and colleagues there, has been thinking about them every day.
"It's unfathomable," Crawford said. "The brutality of this attack, and on women and children and elderly people who are completely defenseless, and it's just horrifying, and I think that we need to acknowledge that."
That's what leaders with Christ Episcopal Church in Stroudsburg plan to do.
On Thursday, an evening prayer vigil will be held at Courthouse Square in the borough. Several other faith leaders in Stroudsburg are expected to attend.
"It just popped into my head while we were eating dinner that here I am having the privilege to eat in comfort when people are running from missile strikes and mourning the loss of loved ones and the war and destruction," said Fr. Bruce Gowe.
Fr. Gowe says it's important to allow the community to grieve and pray together regardless of their religion.
"What it comes down to is that we are all human. We all have some kind of spirituality, and in human reality, we are broken by loss and violence. And what mends, that is coming together in love and in prayer under this one God that we serve and pray to," Fr. Gowe said.
"There's going to be representatives of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities here, and I think that it says something very important about the religious communities here."
The group is using prayer as a way to unite all types of people during a difficult time.
The vigil for Israel and Palestine is Thursday at 6 p.m. at Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg.
