Good Shepherd Worshipers Gather For Vigil Outside Fire-Damaged Church
by Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A church torn apart by a massive fire brings a community together.
For the last few years, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia housed five different congregations.
"We have Seventh Day Adventist, we have Baptist, we have non-denominational, we have Presbyterian, we have fellowship organizations, we are just a diverse group of worshipers right here," said Reverend Anthony Jenkins.
He is the pastor of Christian Temple Fellowship, one of the churches that called Good Shepherd home.
"It's still a feeling of unbelief, I'm actually still in shock," he said.
Reverend Jenkins and pastors from the other four churches organized a vigil on Tuesday evening for the church, which was gutted by a four-alarm fire earlier this week.
"We wanted to be a community that stands together. We are a community that stands together," said Reverend Jenkins.
During the vigil, a few dozen people from the church and the community prayed and sang hymns, just feet from the fire-ravaged church.
It is still unknown if officials will rebuild the 104-year-old church, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.