We must pray, we must pray for him, we must pray for the spirit of our nation, that a spirit of love and compassion and goodness and decency would pervade, and that spirits of hatred and bigotry would be cast away. But, above all, at this time, pray for those who have died and for their families and their loved ones. Pray for those who are wounded. Pray for the first responders, pray for our brothers and sisters in the Jewish community. Pray for the Tree of Life synagogue. Pray for the City of Pittsburgh. Pray for America. Pray for us all.

In response to these acts of evil, let us come together, stand together, and act together to heal the world that God loves and has given us to share. Because we all belong to God, we all belong to each other.

Sunday’s event was put on by the Commission for Racial Understanding, part of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio’s West Mission.

The entire congregation gets involved in the Pierogis and Pork Dinner being staged at Painesville’s St. James Episcopal Church this weekend. It takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 20.

LORAIN — What to do with the Confederate flag at the Lorain County Fair? That’s the question still on the minds of the Fair-minded Coalition of Lorain County, which said this week it wants to make the Lorain County Fair a more “family friendly” event by ending the sale and display of the Confederate flag.