Clasping lit candles, they gathered outside the King Avenue United Methodist Church in Columbus s University District on the eve of a U.S. presidential transition of power.
With the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris just hours away, they spoke nary a word to one another as they looked up toward the door where the speakers stood waiting with microphones.
They weren t there to protest election results they d been told were fraudulent, nor were they there to celebrate the dawn of a new administration. Rather, they had gathered about 30 strong to pray together that the fraught tensions and deep political divisions ravaging the nation would soon heal.