Clergy from several area congregations participate Sunday in the Blessing of the Schools service hosted by Congregations in Action.

Photos by KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times

William Fleming High School student Devonte Saunders sings Sunday during the Blessing of the Schools interfaith service of prayer for Roanoke elementary schools. Congregations in Action hosted the event.

Tim Harvey, pastor of the Central Church of the Brethren, said the support of the schools was one issue in which people of many faiths could work together.

Helping Roanoke City Public Schools is a task that local interfaith volunteer group Congregations in Action has taken up as a mission.

Whether it's assisting school children with reading, providing socks for students during winter or helping teachers out in the classroom, Congregations in Action has made a difference in Roanoke-area elementary schools for the past six years.

Congregations in Action and the Roanoke school system held the second annual Blessing of the Schools interfaith ceremony Sunday afternoon at the William Fleming High School auditorium. City leaders, teachers, principals and faith leaders came together to address the needs of the school system. There are 26 churches and a synagogue involved with the program.

Roanoke schools Superintendent Rita Bishop spoke about the high poverty rate among school-age students in Roanoke. She said about two-thirds of the city's K-12 students receive free or reduced lunch.

"If we don't do something, what will happen?" she asked the audience of about three dozen.

She praised the volunteers with Congregations in Action for their efforts to reduce the effects of poverty and help the city schools meet some of their needs, such as tutoring and weekend food packages for students.

"It's going to take more than a village," Bishop said.

It's going take cooperation from the city council, community and school district to make Roanoke schools a model for public education, she said.

Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill was the keynote speaker for the event. He also praised Congregations in Action for its efforts and urged more people to get involved and invest in public education.

"CIA serves as an inspiration to all of Roanoke," Morrill said.

He encouraged the crowd to reach out to the children.

"It's time for the community to commit," he said. "We need people who are passionate about our schools and seeing that they all succeed."

After the keynote speech, five Roanoke-area faith leaders delivered prayers asking for blessings on students, teachers, staff, parents and the community for the upcoming school year.

Sybil Taylor, principal at Virginia Heights Elementary School, said she is pleased with how Congregations in Action volunteers have helped her school. Participating elementary schools communicate with the group to address their needs.

"They give so enormously of their time and interest in the children," she said at the afternoon event. "The children love them. The volunteers take such an interest with every child. We are truly building community."

Tim Harvey, pastor of Central Church of the Brethren, was one of the founding members of Congregations in Action.

He said although people may find it unusual that some churches are so involved with schools, he says he believes it is his duty as a Christian and faith leader to help.

"What impresses me so much is we so often in faith communities operate independently or in opposition to one another, but this is an effort in which you see faith communities working together," he said. "Despite our differences, we have to learn to get along."

City Councilwoman Anita Price said that when she was a school counselor, she worked closely with Congregations in Action.

"Any need we presented to them, they were right on it," Price said. "It is important for people to understand that school business is everyone's business."