Nearly 1,000 people attended a Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church on Wednesday night, with the crowd pouring into the streets outside.

Earlier, leaders from several faiths prayed together with about 100 people during a vigil at the plaza level of City Hall downtown.

These were the scenes around Tulsa Wednesday evening as community members of all ethnic and religious backgrounds prepared for House Bill 1804 to take effect on Thursday.

The Rev. Luis Carlos Sanchez of the United Church of Religious Science led the candlelight vigil, joined by nearly 30 clergy members.

"We are people from all faith traditions, denominations," Sanchez said. "Our faith will bring light to this moment of social darkness."

Bishop Edward J. Slattery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa said a prayer in Spanish for the crowd.

"I was asking that God forgive our sins from all over the world, especially with wars," Slattery said afterward. "I asked that we resort to charity and love."

Darell Christopher of Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry led the crowd in singing the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome."

"Hopefully, people will know this is about the treatment of human beings," Christopher said. "It's about justice and humanity."

David Bernstein of the Jewish Federation of

"I remember our meeting on Main Street and Archer and in Greenwood and wondering what would happen to our black brothers," he said. "The civil rights movement continues on. It does not stop. . . . If we are not together, good people in faith, we will fail."

The Quran teaches that people should give food and greetings to both people you know and those you don't know, said Priscilla Reem Khader, who is Muslim.

"As Americans, we have a moral duty to care for all mankind," she said. "Everything we have, including this land, is from God and ultimately, everything belongs to him."

The last time St. Francis Xavier, 2434 E. Admiral Blvd., had such a big crowd was three years ago for Our Lady of Guadalupe feast, said attendee Armando Cardenas, 18, of Tulsa.

He said that while many of his friends will be leaving Oklahoma, he's staying.

"I am legal, so I plan to stay and do what I can to help," he said. "These children -- innocent people without their parents -- they don't know their parents are illegal. They don't understand what's going on."

Althea Peterson 581-8361
althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com