Religious Leaders Pray For Safe School Year For Chicago Students

(CBS) -- As Chicago Public School students get ready for the start of school Tuesday, religious leaders are praying for a safe year, reports WBBM's Nancy Harty.

Minister Lonnie Newman and others gathered outside Mollison Elementary and prayed for students heading back to school.

"We ask that you bless all of our kids, bless all of the kids in the city of Chicago, all of the kids at each and every school, public school, private school, Catholic, Christian, whoever they are, God bless them in the name of Jesus," he said.

Representatives from several Christian denominations and the Nation of Islam offered prayers that kids get to school safely.

The gathering was organized by the Black Star Project, which is in its eleventh year of encouraging fathers and all men to take children to school on the first day and to stay active in their education.