An interfaith prayer vigil will be held Thursday in support of Winnipeg's Jewish Community.

 A violent antisemitic event at a Winnipeg café left the business spraypainted with hateful graffiti and sent a female employee to hospital last Thursday.

The incident remains under investigation by the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) major crimes unit by several teams.

The assault took place at the BerMax Caffé & Bistro in Winnipeg, leaving the restaurant covered in graffitied antisemitic messages and resulting in serious physical harm against an employee of the business. It was the fourth instance of antisemitic violence taken against the business in the last five months.

Deciding enough was enough, Loraine MacKenzie Shepherd, minister at Westworth United Church, is taking a public stand with her church against antisemitism and intolerance in Winnipeg.

"The purpose is to support the Jewish community; secondly, to have a united stand against antisemitism," the minister explained.

As well, the church wants to use this opportunity as a way of standing against any instances of hate directed towards groups due to their personal beliefs or identity.

Having just completed a series on interfaith dialogue aimed to both draw on Christian traditions and meaningfully respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission call-to-action, MacKenzie Shepherd says organizing a vigil for their neighbors facing acts of hate was a natural response.

"When this happened, because we're the neighboring church... it seemed as if it would be good to host it and draw on our interfaith relations we've already been developing to bring everyone together across faith traditions."

A strong belief that Christian faith goes hand-in-hand with faith solidarity, too, contributed to the decision by MacKenzie Shepherd and her congregation to host the vigil.

"Our congregation believes very strongly that we as Christians have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with anyone who is attacked because of who they are," MacKenzie Shepherd said. "It comes out of our own particular belief... our focus on that act of solidarity."

The vigil will take place on Thursday, April 25, 2019 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Westworth United Church (1750 Grosvenor Avenue). Individuals of all faith backgrounds and beliefs are invited to attend.