SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — It’s a question so many people have. “How can that much hatred, how can that much hatred be in an 18-year-old boy,” Pastor H. Bernard Alex of Victory Temple Fellowship Church in Syracuse asked.
Ten people are now dead in a mass shooting at a Buffalo Tops supermarket is more than just a headline for Pastor Alex.
“It was no longer for me just reading about somebody else. These are people I know.”
Bishop. Dr. H. Bernard Alex, Pastor of Victory Temple Fellowship Church
Heyward Patterson, 67, was a deacon at a local church. He also worked as a driver, giving shoppers a ride home from the grocery store.
“He showed that ingenuity and creativity doesn’t always require a degree or validation. It requires a heart to serve,” Alex recalled.
Alex called Pearl Young, 77, Mother Pearl.
“She was, that Saturday, had just left, just leaving a prayer breakfast, a gathering. There are pictures that show her sitting sat the table with her hands up. Then she went to the store,” Alex said.
As he’s processes this loss, the lyrics to Marvin Gaye’s song seem most fitting in a time such as this.
“What’s going on? What’s going on,” Pastor Alex asked reciting the lyrics to Gaye’s song, “What’s Going On.” He went on to recite the lyrics, “There are too many people dying. Too many mothers crying. We’ve got to find a way to bring some loving here today.”
Pastor Alex said it’s going to take intentional, open and honest dialog to get there.