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BELHAVEN — A gathering of pastors brought a group of believers together at the Belhaven market Thursday, uniting the faithful in prayer and song. Belhaven Alderman Bradford Linton and Belhaven Mayor Ricky Credle organized the event. All told, around 10 pastors and laypeople spoke and offered prayers during the meeting, something Linton and Credle say the community needs right now.

“There’s so much disunity right now in the country,” Linton said. “It’s completely understandable that there are people that are upset. Whenever there’s injustice, we need to go against it. We’re not a people who want to put others down. We want to create justice towards each other. That’s the whole point of being an American, is creating more freedom for everybody. At the same time, we don’t fight evil with evil.”

One after another, pastors of various denominations and races preached that same method of unity, encouraging those gathered to reject evil and hatred. For Credle, it was exactly the message Belhaven needs to hear right now.

“It looked like the town, and that’s what we all want,” Credle said. “We’re all Americans, and we all need to stand together. We can all agree to disagree, but at the end of the day, we’re fighting for the same cause. This turnout was great. It’s been in my heart and I’ve been doing a lot of praying.”

Credle added that he would like to see the community prayer meeting become a monthly event in Belhaven, possibly on the third Wednesday of the month. In addition, there is also a group of Christians that meets every Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. for a time of prayer at the Belhaven town docks.