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Chelsea Church Holding Prayer Service Amid 'Erosion of Human Rights'

By Maya Rajamani | January 31, 2017 11:07am
 St. Peter's Episcopal Church on West 20th Street.
St. Peter's Episcopal Church on West 20th Street.
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Facebook/St. Peter's Chelsea

CHELSEA — An Episcopal church in Chelsea is holding a candlelight prayer service this week in response to the recent “erosion of human rights" related to President Trump's first weeks in office, its pastor said.

The vigil at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church at 346 W. 20th St., near Ninth Avenue, will be a “prayer service for our country,” Rev. Stephen Harding said.

The church organized the service in response to Trump's recent series of executive orders, as well as the “first steps” taken to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he explained.

“It just seemed to us that the erosion of human rights was happening rapidly, and we wanted to do something as a church, to respond to it,” Rev. Harding said.

“We as the church are called to strive for justice and peace among all peoples, and to respect the dignity of every human being, and it just seemed to us that wasn’t really happening,” he added.

The service, which will start at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, is “not for any one political party or the other,” nor is it only open to Episcopalians, the pastor said.

“Everyone’s welcome,” Rev. Harding said. “It’s happening in an Episcopal church, but if it comes across as sectarian, then we haven’t done our job well.”