The state’s oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church will host a prayer vigil Wednesday in honor of nine people killed at a sister church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Bethel AME in conjunction with Travis Chaple and St. James AME churches will hold the vigil at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 805 Monroe St. in response to the shooting death of nine members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Bethel’s pastor the Rev. Arnita Spencer said.

“The AME church is a family, so it is important that we pause to recognize the pain and hurt of our sister church. Bethel and historic Emanuel share many similarities, and we realize that it could’ve been us,” Spencer said.

On June 17, a gunman believed to have been motivated by white supremacist ideology opened fire inside the historic African-American church as more than a dozen worshipers concluded a weekly bible study.

A 21-year-old white man, Dylann Roof, is being held for the attack. He’s accused of sitting with the victims for an hour during Bible study before making racially offensive remarks and opening fire.

Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder in the shootings. Among the victims was Emanuel AME’s pastor and South Carolina state Sen. Rev. Clementa “Clem” Pinckney.

The prayer service in honor of the victims is open to the public, and Spencer and other church leaders are encouraging members of all faiths to attend and take a stand against hate.

“We need to let people know that we are not going to let anyone separate us from the love of God. We’re going to continue to serve,” said Rev. Beverly Baskin, who pastors both Travis Chapel and St. James churches.

Bethel was founded in 1864 by Rev. Page Tyler, a missionary who had traveled down the Mississippi River from Missouri. Tyler left Bethel a few months later to the leadership of Brother John Bowman, later honored as the only person to be buried on the grounds of the Monroe Street church.

Bethel’s original church building was built in 1828 and was the home of the city’s white Presbyterians until the Bethel congregation purchased it after the Civil War. It was said to show “the marks of bombardment” from the 1863 siege of Vicksburg.

In 1867, Prince Hall Masonry, known as “the first Negro Masonic Hall in Mississippi,” was organized by Thomas W. Stringer on the grounds of Bethel.

The building was remodeled and updated a number of times over the decades, but the current brick structure, an example of Romanesque architecture, was erected in 1912.

For more information about the service, call Spencer at 601-868-1757 or 601-636-5777 or email at arnitaspencer@yahoo.com.