CARLISLE, Pa. -- People came together Thursday, in the wake of tragedy, at the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Carlisle.
They were attending the Unity Singers Chior concert that began with a prayer for the nine people who lost their lives in Charleston, SC on Wednesday.
"When you awaken in the morning and you find out a tragedy of this nature has taken place, it's not business as usual," Rev. Hubbard said.
Hubbard is the pastor at Bethel AME Church in Carlisle, a sister church to Emanual AME, where the shooting happened in South Carolina.
Ivy Berry, licentiate and a pastor in training, was horrified. "We hold bible study here at our church on Wednesdays, and my immediate thought was, that could have been us."
Rev. Hubbard said Charleston has an impact on Carlisle. "But for God's grace that very well could have happened anywhere in this state."
With that, she wants to see more gun control. "This is not just about race, it's about an issue in this nation where we're so often tossed and torn between our rights, what we should and the moral things of what we ought to be able to do," Rev. Hubbard concluded.
Despite the sadness and loss, members said they will continue to do God's work.