Members of the faith and LGBT communities will gather tonight at the First Congregational Church of Akron to remember the victims of last week’s mass shooting in Orlando.
The event includes representatives from the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent, the Akron Interfaith Council and several local LGBT groups. Also attending are Summit County Clerk of Courts Sandra Kurt and Akron Mayor Daniel Horrigan, who will make remarks about the shooting.
The Rev. Nannette Pitt, who organized the event, says it is important to her because, as a new pastor, she wanted to bring the community together.
“I was just horrified that I hadn’t seen a widespread community response. There were a couple of vigils held by smaller groups, and I felt that the community needed the opportunity, So I reached out to those community partners and began to organize. And I’m very pleased to say we’ve established new relationships.”
The event also is memorializing the victims of the Emmanuel AME church shooting, which happened a year ago in South Carolina.
