More than 300 people praised the Holy Spirit and prayed for racial tolerance during a community religious service Sunday in Elgin.

The sounds of song and prayer filled the auditorium at Blaney Elementary School in the small Kershaw County town.

People from 11 churches in southwestern Kershaw County and northeastern Richland County attended the service to promote racial diversity in houses of worship.

“Is everybody ready to praise the Lord? We need to ask God to open the eyes in our heart,” a pastor said in opening the service.

Cars filled a parking lot outside the school. A racially diverse crowd of young and old clapped and swayed in rhythm to the music. People in attendance included members of small, rural churches and large, urban churches.

“We come to say thank you for the meeting of minds that led this service to come to be,” said Bill Goodwin, pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church.

Pastors of area churches worked and prayed for several years to make Sunday’s service a reality. Members of each congregation in attendance were recognized. Everyone stood when a pastor asked how many believers were present.

Kershaw County Sheriff Steve McCaskill called on fellow Christians to work to ban video poker in a November statewide referendum. He said gambling debts have ruined marriages and led desperate gamblers to steal from others.

“The video poker industry can be beat, but it takes your participation,” McCaskill said. “The Christian community needs to rise up and get video poker out of South Carolina once and for all.”

A pastor asked those in attendance to introduce themselves to people seated near them. A community choir smiled and swayed in unison while singing, “Jesus in Me.” People opened their personal bibles as a pastor read Scripture and later stood while singing, “Victory in Jesus.”

“This is a little bit what heaven will look like. It doesn’t matter whether you are black or white,” said Clay Shook, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pontiac. “We’ve got a real positive feeling in this room.”

John Allard can be reached at (803) 771-8358 or e-mail him at jallard@thestate.com.Caption:

PHOTO: COLOR1. Holly Steele of Pontiac Baptist Church sways her her hands as she sings along with the choir during a gathering for racial tolerance Sunday at Blaney Elementary School in Elgin. KIM KIM FOSTER/THE STATE