By Globe Staff

Dozens of pastors preached on the steps of Oakland City Hall Tuesday night as hundreds of residents prayed for peace and divine intervention in a city reeling from violence and mayhem.
    Flanked by Mayor Jerry Brown and Police Chief Wayne Tucker, Bishop Bob Jackson and other pastors of Oakland vowed to support city leaders and keep the faith.
   “We are here to pray for peace,” said Jackson.

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Police Chief Wayne Tucker respond to hundreds who prayed for an end to violence on Tuesday night. The prayer vigil was organized by Oakland pastors who pledged to partner with the mayor and the chief to stop the violence in Oakland.

    Other speakers included Rev. Alfred Smith of Allen Temple Baptist Church and Bishop Ernestine Reems Dickerson of Center of Hope Community Church. Both churches are in what police have called “the killing zone” because so many murders have occurred there.
    Pastors thanked the Lord for not bringing rain as the attendees listened to gospel songs and sermons. A parade of speakers came to a podium to offer words of hope. Rev. Claude Wilson of Havenscourt Community Church offered a moving prayer and called for “unity in the community.”
    At one point, hundreds of people held hands and said a prayer for peace in a city that has already seen 35 murders in 2006. There were 14 at this time last year.
    Chief Tucker said 85 percent of the city’s murders are drug-related. He said a local gang intervention program is working, and that the recent redeployment of officers is also working. He urged churches to let the police department hold recruitment drives at their facilities.
   “Too many ex-offenders need jobs and housing and drug treatment,” said Rev. Smith.
    Mayor Brown agreed that there are many ex-offenders on the streets without hope. “We have to communicate there is always hope,” he said. “We have dozens of programs to help. Call City Hall. Call the mayor’s office.”
    He urged attendees to reach out to help the homeless and others in need. “I met a man who said he lost his family because of his crack addiction,” said Brown. “I took his phone number. We have to help people one by one. We can work with you. We have to overcome evil with good.”
   “We have to tell our children to put down the guns and pick up a Bible and go to school,” said Rev. Joe Smith of Good Hope Church. Rev. Harvey Smith spoke before the hour-long vigil. “We need to stop the killing. They (criminals) are doing to us what the Klan used to do.”
    Another pastor said the federal government spends billions of dollars on the war in Iraq but “too many Americans are dying on urban streets.”
    The pastors and community members came together after failing to get Brown and Tucker to attend private meetings at Acts Full Gospel Church, where Jackson is pastor.