DALLAS – Still reeling from the events of the previous week, some people in Dallas turned to their faith for answers Sunday morning.
As parishioners poured into Concord Church, they arrived looking for something.
"I'm actually hoping for a sense of hope, a sense of unity," Kenneth Goffney said.
Inside, it was clear what was on the congregation and its pastor's mind.
"This week our hearts have been broken, over and over again," pastor Bryan Carter said as he began the service.
The sermon and prayers at the predominantly black church focused not just on the shooting at Thursdays protest, but also on the police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota that sparked that demonstration.
"And some want to ignore the racial tension in our country, but friends, racism is real and has been real for 400 years," Carter told his flock.
Carter had said before the service that he wanted to do more than just acknowledge his parishioners' pain. He wanted to give them a call to action.
"Every single person in this room has a responsibility to do some work right where you are," Carter said. "It could mean talking to a co-worker that you just rejected, but you never know where that co-worker could end up. You could be the person that God could use to help that person to deal with the racism in their heart."
His message was apparently an effective one for one of the people in the audience, Shaniqua Fobbs.
"I was actually at the shooting on Thursday, so it meant a lot for me to come here," Fobbs said. "You know, I feel better now, because at one point I felt hopeless."
Carter also asked members to sign a copy of a petition, which was more of a list of commitments. One of the commitments was "intentional conversation" about racism in America.
Right underneath it was working for "concrete solutions for the common good and the flourishing of all communities."