Charleston church reopens after shooting
Hundreds of worshippers gathered as the Emanuel AME Church swung open its doors for services Sunday in Charleston, S.C., four days after a shooting that left nine dead.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Emanuel AME Church swung open its doors for services Sunday, four days after a 21-year-old white man who told police he wanted “to start a race war” allegedly killed the pastor and eight congregants attending a Bible study in the church basement.
Hundreds lined up in the Charleston sun to climb the stairs to the sanctuary of “Mother Emanuel,” one of the country’s oldest African-American churches and one with a rich history of resilience. The organist played and church bells chimed as the choir sang “Blessed Assurance.”
Worshipers from Charleston and across the country filled the pews and balcony of the church. Some watched the sermon from seats in the fellowship-hall basement — where the shooting occurred Wednesday.
“This is our house of worship,” said the Rev. Norvell Goff, presiding elder of the Edisto District of the State Conference of the AME Church, addressing the congregants. “The doors of the church are open, praise be to God.”
“No evildoer, no demon in hell or on Earth can close the doors of God’s church.”
Many in the pews fanned themselves furiously, beating back a thick heat and fragile emotions. People fought tears, rocking back and forth. Some comforted each other in long embraces. Ushers passed out bottles of cold water. And above them all loomed the pastor’s usual seat, empty, covered by a black cloth.
In Emanuel AME’s nearly 200-year-old history, the congregation has withstood slavery, segregation, racially motivated laws to keep worshipers from meeting and fires set by angry, white mobs. But the massacre Wednesday of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who was the church’s pastor, and eight church members left many wondering how such a tragedy could occur in a place they consider a safe haven.
“It has been tough, it’s been rough, and some of us have been downright angry. But through it all, God has sustained us and encouraged us,” Goff said. “When times of trouble come into our lives, how do we respond? Do we respond by being afraid? Or do we respond in faith?”
Goff encouraged the congregation to look to God for healing.
“The blood of the Emanuel Nine requires us to work for not only justice in this case, but for those living on the margins of life,” he said. “We must stay on the battlefield until there is no more fight to be fought.”
Reporters, he said, had asked him how some family members who attended the bond hearing of suspect Dylann Roof could say they would forgive him. Roof was charged with nine counts of murder and possessing a firearm in the commission of a crime.
The families, Goff said, were holding on to a strong faith that teaches them to love their neighbors. “God is our refuge and our strength,” Goff said. “We ought to put our hope and trust in God.”
Daniel Martin Jr., 52, whose family has been Emanuel members for over 100 years, said the church would grow stronger.
“It’s painful and difficult, but if you know anything about the people of faith, Charlestonians, members of the church, you will understand when we come to church we receive the word of God.”