Modesto vigil urges peaceful response to Paris attacks

About 60 people gathered Sunday night in Modesto to urge a peaceful response to the terrorist attacks Friday in Paris and Thursday in Beirut.

The interfaith vigil at Graceada Park, organized by the the Modesto Peace Life Center, came on the same day that France carried out airstrikes in Syria against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State.

Holding candles in a chilly breeze, speakers said their faith calls instead for peacemaking and for helping people lacking food and other needs.

“The sole purpose of this vigil is to bring peace,” said Frank Johnson, president of the NAACP of Modesto/Stanislaus County. “Peace isn’t easy.”

Investigators believe the Islamic State was behind the attacks in Paris, which killed at least 129 people, and in Beirut, where at least 40 were killed. But the vigil offered a different view of what Islam is about.

“Terrorism has no faith; terrorism has no religion,” said Imam Ahmad Kayello of the Islamic Center of Modesto.

Pastor Michael Schiefelbein of College Avenue Congregational Church said he understood that people might be cautious in light of the attacks, but he urged them “to also have great faith in the human spirit.”

Harpreet Singh of Salida, a member of the Sikh faith, joined in urging nonviolence. “It has prevailed in history, and it will always prevail,” he said.

Participants sang “Imagine,” the anti-war song by John Lennon, and held signs that also urged an end to violence in Afghanistan, the Middle East and other troubled places on Earth.

This story was originally published November 15, 2015 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Modesto vigil urges peaceful response to Paris attacks."