Citywide prayer service supports Somali community

The public is invited to attend a special event on Thursday, Dec. 4^th at noon, to support the Twin Cities Somali community. “Instead of waiting for someone else to host a citywide prayer service, I decided to step up. With everything that’s going on, Lord knows we need it,” said Sheletta Brundidge, media personality, author and owner of ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cited credible reports that as many as 100 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will be deployed in the Twin Cities with the specific goal of “targeting our Somali community.”

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best, ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.’” Brundidge said.

The Twin Cities is home to the largest Somali population in the United States, with estimates ranging from approximately 80,000 to over 84,000 residents, according to the Census Bureau.

“People are afraid to go to work because they feel they’ll be deported even if they’re U.S. citizens.” Said Janice Downing, an elder at Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis who’ll attend the prayer service Thursday. “I’m going to pray for my Somali brothers and sisters.”

Brundidge noted the power of prayer during the Civil Rights Movement and hopes her event Thursday will create that same kind of positive, lasting change. “Jesus said, ‘This kind can only come out by prayer.’”

The prayer service will feature music from Jearlyn Steele and Nunn Above.