COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Multiple faiths gathered near the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz for a three-hour prayer service organized by the Miccosukee Tribe. The event brought people together from different religions and spiritual backgrounds, seeking divine intervention to change the operation of the immigrant detention facility.
The prayer service blended multiple faiths together, click to see what it sounded like:
Betty Osceola, a Native American activist who also organized the event, explained the idea for the service came from a higher power..
"I received a message that there needs to be more prayer," Betty said.
The service took the place of the usual protesting seen in previous weeks, instead, focusing on bringing people together from all religious walks.
"We need to be human beings again and through prayer we can connect as human beings," Osceola said.
Participants emphasized the importance of caring for the environment and each other. Ant Hatcher, who played the flute during the ceremony, said this ceremony felt like a shred of healing.
"It feels like being an earthling again," Hatcher said. "You're caring for the ship you're flying on, caring about the people that are with you and not separating."
Hatcher rejected the new detention facility in all forms, saying it's a disruption to the speed of the land surrounding it.
"What the Everglades needs is peace, and peaceful people to come through, this is not peace," Osceola said.
Organizers invited religious leaders from various faiths to participate in the services. Catholic priests, ministers, rabbis and other religious leaders shared their expression of prayer over the three hour period.
Osceola concluded the service with a message of love.
"If there was more love in the world, the world would be a better place," Osceola said.
