NORWAY — The local group Christians for Racial Understanding: Community for All will host a prayer vigil from 4 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the outdoor pavilion of Bethany Lutheran Church, 130 Odill Drive, Norway.

“Alligator Alcatraz” has been in the news for the past few weeks. In June, an old airstrip and military prison in the middle of the Florida Everglades was quickly renovated and supplied with wire cells inside aluminum frame tents. On July 1 it opened as a detention center run by the State of Florida to house undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation.

Critics argue that it is a cruel and inhumane facility because of its harsh conditions and remote location, which separates detainees from their families and the community. It is alleged that many who are held there have been denied due process, such as contact with their attorneys. Most of the detainees have committed no violent crimes, or just minor offenses such as traffic violations. More than one-third have not been charged with anything except immigration violations.

Alligator Alcatraz is next to the ancestral lands of the Miccosukee Native Americans. The tribe is fighting the facility because it threatens their sacred lands and culture. Environmentalists see it as a threat to the ecology of the Everglades.

For these reasons, people of faith in Florida have been holding a prayer vigil near the facility every Sunday afternoon. The local service is in conjunction with that prayer vigil.

Mary Van Haute will lead Scripture readings, responsive prayers and times of reflection in the same program that will be used in Florida. There will also be suggestions for further action for those who are interested.

This will be an ecumenical Christian service, but everyone is warmly welcome to come, learn, pray for justice and peace, and act.

“We are seeking to be the light and love of Christ: faith in action. The companionship in solidarity means a lot,” Van Haute said.

For more information contact CRU:CA at northwoodscru@yahoo.com or mvhii@borderlandnet.net.